


A Tragedy in Fire

by Takedo



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night - All Media Types, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (Anime 2014), Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28440519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takedo/pseuds/Takedo
Summary: EMIYA in FE:3H’s Tragedy of DuscurAfter the events of Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, EMIYA somehow landed in Fodlan, specifically during the Tragedy of Duscur.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Patricia, Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd/Patricia
Comments: 14
Kudos: 35





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> First fanfic and I'm still new, so please bear with me as I get used to everything.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emiya arrives.

Another fire, he found himself in another fire. Instead of burned-down rubble and buildings, he was surrounded by trees, ledges, and cliffs. Meanwhile, the houses surrounding him were ablaze, along with the surrounding trees. No… These weren't housing, they were tents. Was he in a military camp?  
  
It didn't matter, not to him. He could hear the screams of people all around him, just like when he was a child. As much as he hated his dream, as much as he tried to let go, he can't; it's his entire being to save others. After an eternity of hating himself and his dream, he began believing in the beauty of the dream again. And so, instead of doing what any sane or normal person would do, like running away from the fire and screams, he dove right through the fire and to hell again.  
  
<br>  
  
It really was a military camp. In addition to the screams, the sounds of battle rose. Metal rang as iron and steel clashed against each other as he got closer. And this smell… Magecraft? No, it felt purer, more powerful. Magic? But that was impossible… Unless… Damn, he wasn't in the Modern Era anymore, wasn't he? Still, the mana around didn't feel too suffocating, so it definitely was not as far back as the Age of Gods.  
  
On top of all that, his pace felt slower than normal. Did his body regress? It certainly felt smaller. A quick look at his body certainly answered it; yes, his body regressed. It wasn't the same body as Counter Guardian self; there was no tanned skin, and his muscles were certainly not as toned. It was his teenage self, wasn't it? No, perhaps even younger. His clothes, however, were his Counter Guardian clothes, but it looked like it was changed to fit his new body. The Holy Shroud wasn't on him, but his black armor certainly did. It was just like when he started his job as a glorified janitor.  
  
‘ _Just when I thought I was free._ ’ Emiya was about to chuckle at the irony, were it not for a woman's sudden scream that ripped through the air. He Reinforced himself and began running as fast he could.  
  
Soon, he arrived at a scene of bodies and blood on the ground and five hooded people surrounding a woman in a blue dress. ‘ _She was the one who screamed._ ’ Moving as silent as possible, he crept even closer, but it didn't seem like anyone in the area was focused on their surroundings.  
  
<br>  
  
"Use one of the spears to kill Her Majesty," one of the hooded men commanded. "Don't use magic. If anyone finds the body, it'll seem like her own bodyguards killed her."  
  
The woman became horrified, then her face became defiant. "Why? I helped you, even gave you all the military locations and their shifts! I gave you everything, and all I asked in exchange was to keep my son safe from harm, and for passage back to Enbarr, back to my daughter!"  
  
"Ah-ah," the same man wagged his finger. "Let me correct that for you: it was Cornelia you made a promise with, not to us. To us, you're fair game." He glanced back to the other hooded people. "Let's finish this and get back to the others. They should be nearing the king's position. They'll need all the help they can get if we're going to kill him."  
  
The woman's breath hitched. "La-Lambert… Did he even know my daughter was in Fhirdiad at all?!"  
  
The hooded man looked back at the woman, as if in disbelief. He began chuckling softly, only to let out a loud, maniacal laugh. "Of course, he didn't! Cornelia sold you that story and you took it, bait and all! He's so in love with you, he could never keep anything from you! Why do you think we targeted you, of all people! His military is too tight-knit, not even our spies saw a way in. And so, we branched out, looking for another opening. And you, oh Queen Consort Patricia, was the perfect chink in his armor! Still, everything was mere happenstance, from him falling for you, to Lord Arundel arriving in Fhirdiad with your daughter in tow! It was as if the world was on our side and all we had to do was take our chance!"  
  
The woman, Patricia, was horrified. Her mouth was open, yet no sound came out.  
  
The hooded man took a deep breath, shook his head, and motioned at the others. "Ah, but enough of that. What are you guys waiting for? Go on, we have to clean this up. I doubt she has any fight left."  
  
<br>  
  
‘ _Talkative, aren't they? Still, what a nice way to wrap everything up, so I can't complain._ ’ Emiya activated his magic circuits, Projecting a bow and five arrows. While the electricity-like effects appeared, the fire around him hid them, and no one saw it. No one except for Patricia. Before the hooded people reached her, he lined up an arrow and shot in rapid succession.  
  
<br>  
  
As the men came closer, Patricia saw lightning. What was weird was that it didn't come from the skies but from the ground. What she saw surprised her: a child, not even older than her beloved children, wielding magic that she had never seen before. The lightning disappeared and a bow and arrows appeared as if he created them from nothing. She looked back at her would-be made sure that none of the men saw what she saw, but they were too focused on her.  
  
The boy let loose his arrows and, suddenly, five people died.  
  
<br>  
  
Emiya exhaled. Patricia's face was one of surprise.  
  
"Do you know anywhere where you'll be safe?" Emiya asked, knocking Patricia out of her surprise.  
  
"I- Yes, where the king and his retinue of knights are," Patricia answered. "Lambert is where most of the fighting will be. Those Who Slither in the Dark are planning a regicide!"  
  
Emiya rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm not deaf, I got that from the conversation. We have to move if we're keeping the king alive. So, where is he?"  
  
Patricia stood up and pointed in a direction. "North, where everyone else is. The Holy Knights of Fhirdiad are strong, but Those Who Slither in the Dark know everything about the Knights. With their knowledge on the military formations, the Knights will lose."  
  
Emiya Reinforced his body, carried Patricia like a princess, and began running north. He kept low on the ground as the fire was spreading on the treetops and made sure that his path was not blocked by the fire.  
  
"Hey! I'm a Queen Consort! I will not tolerate being manhandled by anyone, even if you are a child," Patricia exclaimed. "Who are you, anyway? The Gautier certainly wasn't on the list for this expedition. On top of that, what kind of magic was that? No magic can create weapons like what you did. While Thunder certainly made lightning effects, they're yellow, not blue like yours."  
  
Emiya grit his teeth. "Let me concentrate, woman! I'm just a kid, carrying you like this is tiring as it is. I'll explain later, so keep your mouth closed before you inhale the smoke around us."  
  
Patricia became much more frustrated, but seeing as he was right, stayed quiet. She kept her head low and prayed that Lambert and Dimitri were safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:
> 
> 2021/02/03 Edit:
> 
> EMIYA - Emiya.
> 
> Miscellaneous grammar or spelling changes.
> 
> No plot changes.
> 
> 2021/02/05 Edit:
> 
> Majesty - Highness
> 
> 2021/02/19 Edit:
> 
> As someone pointed out, it’s supposed to be Majesty for both kings and emperors. I made this error because I thought Dimitri was called “Highness” in canon, even past the timeskip. However, this is wrong because Dimitri became king after the final map and Dedue calls him “Majesty”.


	2. Cavalry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lambert tries to survive against the onslaught of enemies.

Things were not looking good.

The enemy attacked the healers first, killing most of the Faith users in the army. Certainly, they had some mages that could use Faith magic, but the loss of Fortify and Restore hit them hard. With no way to heal, or at least with their best gone, the army was on the backfoot.

However, they were the Holy Knights of Faerghus. It was a surprise attack, and an effective one, but it didn’t mean they lost. The camp began moving. Knights moved left and right; voices raised to help keep some semblance of control. Some helped those that were alive get emergency Heal spells from mages that did know Faith magic. The rest began grabbing their weapons and rallied behind their commanders.

But…

It was as if the enemy knew the key targets, their locations, rotations, retinue composition, everything. Magic circles began cropping in the trees, lit by something dark, as if their magic was corrupted. Within the hour, the Holy Knights lost some of their commanders, and without their commanders, confusion and chaos rose.

Who was the enemy? The Duscurians? Where were they? They seemed to hide within the shadows of the trees, as if hunting their prey in the dark.

The Holy Knights quickly regrouped, separating into their secondary and even their tertiary formations if needed, protecting whichever commander was alive. Mages began pelting the trees with simple Fire magic, if at least to bring some light to whoever they fought.

They succeeded. The enemy wasn’t Duscurian; the enemy was pale, some even had only whites in their eyes. Their numbers seemed to equal their own.

Each member of the army knew this was a losing battle. They only prepared for a diplomatic mission with their neighbor, Duscur. They didn’t expect to be hit with such a force. Their best weapons were in Fhirdiad. Bringing them would make Lambert and his Knights seem like conquerors, even if it’s already been almost a decade after the subjugation of Sreng.

And, if this was such a large army, how did they get through the patrols, the scouts? What happened to them?

But damn the battle, damn the enemy. If they were here to kill the king and prince, then the Knights will die getting them to safety, damn their lives.

With a war cry, a portion of the Holy Knights began rushing the enemy. The mages continued throwing Fire and Thunder spells as the rest of the army began a fighting retreat.

It was a sound strategy. A diversion would keep the enemies’ attention while the rest retreated.

It was a sound strategy… If the enemy didn’t know how the Holy Knights would react.

But they did, all thanks to a certain woman.

<br>

Lambert led the retreating force, or at least what should have been the retreating force. However, their retreat stalled, held by what seemed to be much of the enemy force. The first was only a detachment, like what they did. Still, even his retreat wasn’t what plagued his mind.

‘ _Patricia, where are you?_ ’ Patricia said that she was only walking around for a little while for fresh air and was followed by her own set of Knights, personally selected by Lambert himself. They would keep her safe, but after seeing the enemy and their numbers, he was distracted.

He tried his best to focus, telling himself that Patricia’s small force would be able to maneuver much easier, but his love was a constant itch. At the very least, Dimitri was safe with him and Glenn. Still, to be sure…

Lambert turned to Glenn, Lambert’s blue eyes meeting Glenn’s own amber eyes. “Protect Dimitri, Glenn.”

“Of course, your Majesty. But what about you?” Glenn tried to swat the sweat coming from his forehead. The heat from all the Fire spells was increasing.

“Do not worry about me. Dimitri is the heir and as your father was my Shield, you will be his. Swear it on your father’s name!” Lambert’s eye held his conviction.

As a knight-in-training, Glenn was trained to protect the King, first and foremost. However, if his King gave him an order… A Knight only has a single action allowed to them.

“I accept, your Majesty. I will lay down my life as Prince Dimitri’s Shield, this I swear as a Fraldarius.” Glenn’s eyes wavered. It was inevitable, of course. This was his first true battle, and he would likely die.

However, Lambert knew those eyes. Even if Glenn’s eye color came from his mother, Lambert saw Rodrigue, just like back in Sreng. All Lambert could feel was a momentary relief.

However, Dimitri didn’t feel the same way. “Father, don’t say that! You make it sound like you’ll…” That relief was replaced by a sinking feeling in his stomach. How could he lie to his beloved son?

Lambert looked at Dimitri with a smile, as forced as it looked. “Dimitri, I will do my best.” Dimitri knew something wasn’t right with his father’s words but could only look down in acceptance.

Still, this changed nothing with their situation. They were in the backfoot, the enemy knew their every move, and was slowly choking them, just like a snake.

Suddenly, dark magic began pushing back rather than just stopping them. Was the enemy’s strategy to force everyone in the same area?

If the enemy thought that they would take the easiest route, then they would pay for that.

“Move forward! Healers, heal the front line! Knights, engage the enemy! Mages, light them up, forest be damned! We can always ask for forgiveness from the Duscurians later!” Lambert roared, commanding his army to push onward the enemy lines.

<br>

The screaming and sounds of war were starting to get louder again. Emiya was running for a while now, with Patricia in his arms. Reinforcing his vision, Emiya began to see the same hooded cloaks the people wore before.

Without hesitation, he began his attack. “Trace, On!” This time, rather than electricity forming around his hands like last time, it danced around him. The swords formed again and held in the air, following Emiya’s trajectory, as if they were controlled by an invisible puppeteer’s hands. With Emiya’s mental command, the swords began launching towards the backs unsuspecting backs of the enemies. Each sword immediately killed a single hooded member.

As Emiya and Patricia reached the clearing, they saw the damage wrought by the attack: blood ran like a river, both friend and foe alike. The tents were on fire, but no one special like a king seemed to be among the dead.

A knight looked upon the interlopers and recognized the Queen Consort. “Lady Patricia!”

<br>

Patricia tried her best to keep her mouth shut as the boy ran through the fire.

‘ _A child you say?! You run faster than most of the Swordmaster Class. And, even with the fire lighting up the forest, it is still too dark to see roots and the like. However, you run as if you can clearly see steps ahead of you. You move with a veteran’s efficiency and there’s no way you can carry me like this with the strength of a normal child! This dress isn’t light at all._ '

“Trace, On!” The boy’s words took her out of her thoughts and the immediate area lit up with the same lightning effect from before. However, instead of bows and arrows, swords appeared, hanging horizontally by themselves in the air.

‘ _Impossible… Is this a new type of magic? Some sort of creation or summoning magic? Perhaps a variation of the Rescue spell?_ ’

Then something even more impossible happened: the swords shot forward, as if they were the lightning from a Thunder spell. On top of that, each sword shot just as fast towards-

‘ _Wait, are those the damned backstabbers?! I can barely see them! How is he seeing them on top of everything he’s doing? Instead of steps, he might be able to see further ahead of him!_ ’

The pair finally reached the clearing and Patricia could only pale at the devastation. Bodies piled atop each other and blood flowed freely. She began panicking, looking around for Lambert and Dimitri.

“Lady Patricia!” A knight saw her and became excited, seeing her relatively unharmed self.

However, her safety wasn’t at the top of her mind. “Where’s Lambert and Dimitri?!” She was practically screeching at this point.

“Safe, your Majesty. They’re retreating to the East! They left only a few minutes ago. With the enemy here defeated, they should be- “

Dark light rose and then exploded from the East. Patricia paled, even more than before, and looked at the boy. “They’re- “

But, before she could finish, the boy was already on the move. He scooped her up, just like before, and began running towards the explosion.

<br>

Lambert was making some progress. While the enemy had numbers and seemed to know their every move, the Knights had skill and training. With their king letting them fight with no holds barred, the mages began firing their stronger spells, even the occasional Fimbulvetr and Excalibur spells. On top of that, the fire was spreading even further in the forest. While the heat was becoming unbearable, with many sweating buckets at this point, Lambert and the Knights were relatively safe from the fire itself.

The enemy, on the other hand, hid inside the forest. Lambert could only smirk as the enemy’s tactic of hiding in the trees worked against them. And since there were so many of them, the fire culled many of them. The chaos that followed, along with the screams of the burning people, only aided them even more.

Still, the enemy was starting to rally again. Enemies that knew they couldn’t be saved began throwing dark magic against the Knights, up until their last breath as their bodies were consumed by fire.

Lambert heard a whimper behind him and glanced back. Dimitri, the poor boy. This was a horrific sight, even for Lambert, who was used to dismembering with a sword or running someone through with a lance. How bad was it for a child?

Glenn, Goddess bless his heart, immediately understood the situation, turned Dimitri around, shielding him from further seeing more. Glenn also tried to cover Dimitri’s ears to stop him from hearing the screams.

Lambert was glad that Glenn knew what to do. He would be a great retainer for Dimitri. Rodrigue would be even more proud of him if that was at all possible. He practically preened when Glenn was chosen for this diplomatic mission.

He shook his head again. Their current wind, as minuscule as it is, gave him time to breathe and he lost focus. Still, their current path was gaining them ground, but as they got closer to the enemy, they’d also be closer to the fire. Knights, with their heavy armor, would be sitting ducks. On top of that, all the enemy had to do to reverse the situation was to abandon their cover and push the Knights back. After all, there was a certain quality in quantity.

However, pushing the Knights back wasn’t what the enemy did.

“Enough!” A voice rang out in the forest. “You’re proving to be a pest, your Majesty, more so than I thought. Enjoy my gift to you.”

Dark light began accumulating above the army. Lambert, with a sinking feeling, rushed back to Dimitri and Glenn and tackled them, just as the light landed where Lambert originally was and exploded.

Lambert coughed as the dust was everywhere. As Lambert stood, he saw the devastation wrought by the enemy spell. Most of his Knights laid dead on the ground and the remaining knights were critically hurt. Only the backline mages were alive and untouched by the spell.

“Goddess above…” Glenn murmured. Lambert could only agree.

Suddenly, the dark light began accumulating once again, albeit slower than before. Some of the mages’ fire spells at the dark light, but it didn’t work, some fired at the forest, but the enemy was gone at this point.

_ How? Some sort of teleportation spell? _ Lambert grimaced. That would certainly explain how an army of this size could move so quietly and suddenly.

“Your Majesty, please hurry! You must retreat, back to the camp! Perhaps the others have cleared the enemy battalion!” A mage exclaimed in false hope. Still, it was better than waiting here to die.

Just as he stood up and carried Dimitri into his arms, the voice rang again. “You won’t escape this time, Lambert! Die!”

It was too late. The dark light fell upon them. Lambert could only shield Dimitri from the light, hoping that death would be quick for him. He hoped that Patricia was able to escape, if at all possible.

Suddenly, someone stepped next to him, as if they landed from the air, and a voice, a childish voice, rang out.

“Rho Aias!”

He looked up and his vision was filled with a purple flower.

<br>

Emiya cursed his current body. If it were his Counter Guardian body, he would have already reached Lambert even earlier. But no, he arrived, with only enough time to shield his immediate surrounding. He had to drop Patricia unceremoniously beside a blonde man, a teenager with dark blue hair, and a blonde child.

He held his right hand above him. “Rho Aias!” And with that, Rho Aias protected him and the people around him from the dark light.

However, he struggled to keep his hand up and began supporting it with his left hand. Running all night long with a woman in a full-fledged dress on his arms, on top of Reinforcing his body to his current limits. His body was reaching its limits.

Again, he cursed his current body. The first thing he’s going to do when he gets free time is to train his body again, from the ground up. Curse his old self for focusing only on his Magecraft and not the physical body, only pushing it to make it decently built. And even then, he only started training after Kiritsugu died, five years before the Fifth Holy Grail War.

‘ _Was this body that young?_ ’ That was a refreshing thought. A new body, new training regiment, he’d be stronger at the age of seventeen that he originally was if he trained right.

The first petal broke as the light exploded, and his right hand began received the damage the petal did. Still, he continued standing, despite his exhaustion and pain, ready to Trace it again if needed.

After all, there were people behind him that needed to be saved. He couldn’t forgive himself if he failed, especially when he started believing again.

<br>

Thales could only stare in disbelief. The Death spell failed to pierce whatever flower shield the child made, only going through a single petal. Still, it seemed like it wasn’t without drawbacks.

‘ _His arm is damaged, more so than when he entered the battle. Perhaps the user receives damage as the petals are destroyed? Outside that, he seems to be ragged. I honestly don’t believe he could conjure another shield in that state._ ’

He raised his hands, once more activating the magic circles for the Death spell.

However, a horn rang out.

Thales looked behind him. The Duscur army already had arrived?! He could only grit his teeth as he teleported away.

This entire assassination was a failure. Not only does Lambert live, but Anselma was with him, and more than likely, Cornelia has been outed as a traitor. Cornelia was now dead to Those Who Slither in the Dark. And while the foot soldiers he used tonight were of little consequence, the amount that died tonight was a heavy toll. It’ll take a while to recuperate his losses.

Still, as he faded away from the burning forest, his thoughts returned to the child with a shield. He must learn more before attempting another assassination.

<br>

A horn sounded in the air.

Lambert’s eyes widened in relief and stood up. “Duscurian horns! Reinforcements have arrived!”

At his last sentence, the child with red hair and black armor glanced at him. “Cavalry has arrived, eh?”

“Er, yes, boy. Wait, who are you? How did you meet Patricia? How did you carry her? What was that shield? Are you a child from House- ” 

However, before Lambert could finish his string of questions, the boy fell to his knees. “Shit,” he cursed and proceeded to fall face first. Everyone alive could only look in disbelief at what just happened.

Meanwhile, Glenn managed to mutter a response. “Language!” He hissed as he covered the prince’s ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:
> 
> Hmm, testing.
> 
> Now, actual notes.
> 
> Lambert has some experience with fighting in actual wars, with Sreng as his most celebrated. Rodrigue was also present here.
> 
> Now, I'm taking liberty with Thales and the entire army of TWSITD here. All we know from canon is that Dimitri saw TWSITD but survived. It's how he thinks the Flame Emperor was part of the Tragedy: he saw Flame Emperor and Thales talking to each other, implicating their partnership.
> 
> Glenn was also here, as this is where he died. If he survived, I'm 100% sure he would continue what his father did: becoming the Royal family's shield, and in this case, Dimitri. My characterization of him is that he is the proper knight. That means he's sort of uptight, but not so much since Felix loves him when they were children.
> 
> My hope is that he is some sort of foil, if it could be called that, to EMIYA. He's cynical and nihilistic, but deep down he cares for people. He doesn't tell lies, but says half-truths. I hope that I can somehow use Glenn as some sort of gateway that makes EMIYA more approachable in the future, when they know each other more.
> 
> Dimitri will stay as a cinnamon roll.
> 
> Patricia is... hard to do anything with. I know she loved Dimitri and Edelgard, and possibly Lambert until she felt she was betrayed by him. Hapi also talked about her, how she was a caring woman.
> 
> 2021/02/03 Edit:
> 
> EMIYA -> Emiya
> 
> Miscellaneous grammar or spelling changes.
> 
> No plot changes.
> 
> 2021/02/05 Edit:
> 
> Majesty -> Highness
> 
> 2021/02/19 Edit:
> 
> As someone pointed out, it’s supposed to be Majesty for both kings and emperors. I made this error because I thought Dimitri was called “Highness” in canon, even past the timeskip. However, this is wrong because Dimitri became king after the final map and Dedue calls him “Majesty”.


	3. Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A moment of peace?

Emiya was awake before his eyes opened, and he kept it that way. No sense in letting people know he was awake. In his days as a Counter Guardian, when he had to work with the locals, he heard many secrets he wasn’t supposed to hear. Being in a different world doesn’t change what he knows what to do. On top of that, he needed to review what he knew already and plan what to do next.

From the beginning, it seemed like the world’s technology was in the Middle Ages, or at least something similar. Spears, bows, arrows, simple weapons. No guns, or even a musket, meant no gunpowder either.

However, what was new was the magic thrown around the battlefield. He saw magic circles that summoned fire that were thrown as if they were fastballs in baseball, lightning that hit precisely where the enemy hit, and even what seemed to be tornadoes that cut through armor. However, the most peculiar magic was that dark light in the end, which seemed to be impossible, yet Emiya saw it with his own two eyes. On top of that, to be able to break through a petal from Rho Aias, a Noble Phantasm…

‘ _It was something to look out for._ ’

Something creaked and Emiya began to hear voices. Perhaps a door opened, and he had visitors.

<br>

Lambert looked down at the child that slept atop a medical bed. It has been a couple of days now since the failed assassination attempt, and only the child was left asleep. All living members were awake, albeit most were still stuck to resting on a bed. It took him two days to make sure everyone was alive and see who couldn’t fight anymore. He also found time to send messengers to Fhirdiad, asking Rodrigue for reinforcements on their way back. 

Those two days also included talking to the leaders of the town. The Duscurian “army” turned out to just be a wandering mercenary group with some local Duscurians. In his distress, he forgot that Duscur was made of scattered towns and it was hard to keep a standing army that encompassed the entire country.

On the other hand, Jeralt the Blade Breaker led the mercenary group. He thanked the Goddess for his luck. Jeralt and his men were currently on stand-by, awaiting the second wave, should it ever come.

“How is he? Any changes?” Lambert asked Mehmet, the Duscurian doctor, but kept his eyes on the child, looking for a sign, or even a twitch.

Like all Duscurian natives, he was dark-skinned, similar to the foreign Almyrans. However, while Almyrans had dark hair, Duscurians has white-gray hair. Mehmet was no different. His hair was shaved short, and a simple sideburn that reached his beard completed his look. He was well-built, but was on the leaner side amongst the ones Lambert had seen before, most likely since he was a doctor rather than someone who did manual labor.

“None, your Majesty. His breathing has been stable. We have used both Recover and Restore on him to make sure. As of right now, based on Lady Patricia’s words, it may just be that his body needs rest. A Holy Knight doing the physical feats that Lady Patricia said would certainly be believable, but a child? It is out of the norm.” Mehmet answered.

“What about Crests? Do you think he has one?” Crests would certainly answer how the boy could do what he did, but it was impossible to see it physically.

“It’s certainly possible, but your Majesty, his body…” The doctor hesitated, unsure on how to bring the topic up.

“Don’t be coy with me. What is it?”

Mehmet sighed. “The boy has numerous scars around his body. It seemed like animal scratches at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the scars are too big for just the occasional boar. I believe that the boy has fought larger animals constantly. He may live in the forests, but his skin tone and facial structure show that he is not a Duscur native. He’s more like someone from the Empire or the Kingdom. He might be someone that travels around, but none of what I just said explains how a child can do all the things did.”

“Reality conflicting with information?” Lambert wondered, whispering to himself.

There was a knock on the door. “Your Majesty, may I enter? Lady Patricia is with me.” Glenn’s voice rang from the other side of the door.

“Come in,” Lambert said.

Glenn and Patricia entered the room. Glenn had bags under his eyes due to the lack of sleep in the recent days. He kept awake when Dimitri wasn’t with Lambert, as if worried that assassins would come from all directions. However, recently, Dimitri has been mingling with Jeralt’s mercenary group, specifically Jeralt’s daughter, Byleth. Byleth was an upcoming mercenary, known for her silence in the middle of the battlefield, earning her the name Ashen Demon. With Jeralt and his men around Dimitri and Byleth, Dimitri was safe until Jeralt could reconvene with Lambert. It also helped ease everyone’s minds that Jeralt was the previous, and greatest, Captain of the Knights of Seiros.

Patricia, on the other hand, was worse in the beginning. She ran herself ragged ever since Jeralt’s mercenary group arrived. She healed whoever she could, like a woman on a mission. It didn’t matter who needed healing, nor how big the wound was. On Lambert’s insistence, she finally took a nap in the afternoon of the first day, which resulted in her conking out for an entire day.

As of right now, Patricia seemed like she was shining. If Lambert was an ordinary man and if the situation was not so dire, he might have swooned.

“How is he, doctor?” Patricia asked.

“We’ve used Restore and Recover on him, so he should be fine. More than likely, he pushed himself last night and currently just needs rest,” Mehmet answered. 

Lambert glanced at the doctor to continue. “However, his body is littered with scars, from what seems like large animals. I’ve also surmised that he may be a wanderer, seeing as he looks more like an Adrestian or even from Faerghus.”

Glenn frowned, deep in thought.

“What’s in your mind, Glenn?” Lambert asked. “You seem like you have an idea.”

“Ah, yes. More like a thought, really. Is he perhaps with the assassins last night?”

Lambert narrowed his eyes. “How do you mean?”

“A mysterious hero, saving the King and his family in the last minute. It would certainly gain him their trust. On top of that, as the doctor said, he’s not Duscurian. It’s possible that he came with the assassins through their Teleport spells. There’s no way through the forest without being seen nor heard. Sir Jeralt also concluded that the enemy used Teleport spells. There was that flower that shielded us from the enemy’s Death spell, one of our mages identified it as such. There’s also that armor he wore, armor that has never been seen before, all in black color.” Glenn said his thoughts out loud.

“And? What’s your conclusion?” Lambert urged Glenn.

“His movements, strengths, and willingness to kill… If I may be frank, your Majesty, I see a child soldier and a very effective one.” Glenn exhaled a breath he didn’t know he held.

The room was silent. The implication that they have an enemy in their midst was worrisome. Even if the boy wasn’t an enemy, no one was trained young enough to be on the levels of a Holy Knight at what looked to be the young Prince’s age. Dimitri was only fourteen!

“However, if that was the case, he might be special. None of the assassins last night seemed as young as the boy. On top of that, they all seemed to be physically normal,” Lambert countered.

“While true, differentiating himself from the others in that way would help make him seem different,” Glenn claimed.

“Um, am I allowed for this type of talk? I’m just a doctor.” Mehmet gulped, seriously feeling out of his depth.

“Oh, you’re fine. We’re just throwing ideas around.” Lambert said absent-mindedly. Glenn’s case was certainly strong. However, there was still one other person in the room. He glanced to his side. “Patricia, your thoughts? You were with him the most.”

Patricia was silent for a second. She opened her mouth, only to close it the next moment. She took a deep breath. “I trust him. When we were running towards the camp, his eyes were serious, desperate to get me to safety. I know that your case is compelling, Glenn, but you weren’t there.”

“I understand, Patricia. It was the same with Rodrigue with me.” Lambert half-smiled, reminiscing the past. “Why, he jumped and saved me back in Sreng. It was right there and then that I decided that he would be my right hand.”

Lambert stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes in thought. “If anything, his crass is just the same as when Rodrigue was younger.”

“Impossible! Father could never be so disrespectful!” Glenn shouted. This would be a moment that Glenn would try to forget, but never could. Whenever he remembered, he’d always groan, as if the memory dealt him physical pain. How could a knight yell at his King?!

Lambert’s eyes widened in disbelief, only to be replaced with a knowing smirk. “Did Rodrigue never tell you? Well, I suppose those days would destroy his knightly image; I can share some stories when we get together again.”

Patricia shook her head and sighed. “Dear, don’t embarrass Rodrigue in front of his son, especially when he’s not even here.”

“Sorry, sorry, I can’t help it. Old memories are fun to remember.” Lambert laughed. “Still, back to the main issue. The boy will be kept under surveillance. Glenn posed serious issues that we can’t look away from, but on the other hand, I will be eternally grateful for saving Patricia. Glenn, have two men be posted in the room. When he awakens, have one of them get us. I have questions to ask and Patricia will likely want to say her thanks personally.” Lambert glanced at Patricia, which she nodded to.

“That adjourned, let’s get out of here. I want to see little Dimitri again.” Lambert began walking to the door, followed by Patricia, then Glenn, and then Mehmet.

<br>

The door closed.

‘ _Hmm, my position isn’t terrible, but it could be better. I’m in the king’s good graces, but certainly on thin ice. I’ll need a good cover-up story. On top of that, scars on my body? If I’m as young as I should be, there should be no scars at all. It should be a few years before I joined the Holy Grail War._ ’

Emiya started a Structural Analysis on his own body. He can’t exactly wake up just yet.

‘ _These wounds… These were from my fight with Shirou and the Golden King. I see, it really is my own body, just turned younger and kept all my damage. How should I explain those?_

‘ _Wait, I do have a story, one I could connect with everything I know and don’t know. Still, no sense is waking up just yet._ ’

The door creaked again, and footsteps entered the room. 

‘ _Must be the guards Lambert mentioned. So far, I know I’m in an area called Duscur, a place that neighbored a place called Faerghus and Adrestia. Presumably, Duscur looks different from my current self. The enemy from before seemed to be an unknown. They believe me to be a child soldier. They’re not exactly far off though. There are also the new spells, Recover and Restore, which sound like healing spells._

‘ _With this… I have my story._ ’

<br>

Two guards entered the room, only to hear the child groan in pain. One of them rushed back outside as the other tried to help the child.

<br>

Lambert, Glenn, Patricia, and Mehmet entered the room. They saw the boy was laying down, with his eyes closed.

“Your Majesty,” the guard bowed, “He was awake only a few moments ago.” 

The boy grunted and opened his eyes. They were greeted by the boy’s eyes-

‘ _Heterochromia. Gold on his left, and gray on the right._ Lambert noted. _Were they like that before?_ ’

The boy tried to sit up, and the guard helped him up. The boy did his best to bow, given his circumstances.

“Good afternoon, young man.” Lambert began with a friendly smile. “Do you have a name we can call you?”

The boy tilted his head to the side. “Nameless. I do not have a name.”

Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise. Nameless?

“Okay… Where are you from?” Lambert pushed onward.

“I don’t know. All I remember was that they kept me in a room for a long time.” The boy closed his eyes as if he were remembering something.

“They? Who’s they?” Lambert asked.

The boy looked up to him. “The people with the hoods. I don’t know what was wrong, but they somehow forgot to lock the room like always. I left and followed the noise. Everyone was bustling around. I saw that they were gathered in a single room and were stepping on top of a magic circle. With nowhere else to go, I used the magic circle they were using. The next thing I know, I was surrounded by fire. I was here, and I-I was free.” His body gave out and he lied on his bed, breathing heavily.

“What exactly did they do to you? We saw the scars.” Lambert grew even more curious. The picture wasn’t pretty, but he had to see it.

“I remember the tables and chairs. They tied me up and-and… There was so much blood. If I fainted, there would be more cuts on my body when I woke up. They just kept adding things to my body. They changed me. One day, I was suddenly able to do this.” The boy lifted his hand. Surprising everyone but Patricia, a sword formed from electricity. And now that everything has calmed down, Patricia could see lines crawling on his skin. The swords and lines quickly disappeared, and the boy lowered his hand. “Ever since that day, they sent me out to track their monsters, and then kill their damned mistakes. Once that was done, it was back to the room for me.”

“Did you know where you were?” Patricia asked this time. She was afraid that Edelgard was in the same position, forced to do these horrible things.

“No, and it didn’t matter. They used the magic circle from before and the area was always different. I tried to run at some point, but they always knew. The operations were always worse at those times. I stopped trying to escape and just went for my mission. I could never escape back then.

“I’m free now and I don’t want to go back.” The boy looked at Lambert. “Never again.”

“Of course. We’ll keep you safe.” Everyone’s eyes shifted to Patricia. “Did you see anyone else from where you were? Another child perhaps?”

“I’m sorry, but no.” The boy shook his head. “I was the only one. It was always the people in hoods that talked to me if they ever did.”

Patricia paled.

Lambert took note of it and decided this had gone long enough. “Thank you, young man. You should go and rest more. I promise you that nothing will harm you here.” He shot the boy a smile and moved towards the door. Patricia, Glenn, and Mehmet followed him and exited the room. The two guards stayed inside the room. The boy fell asleep, lightly snoring.

The group left without thanking the boy, their minds flooded with new information.

<br>

“Doctor Mehmet, what do you think?” Lambert asked as soon as everyone was outside the door.

“Amnesia before his containment, most likely due to the stress in his experimentations. It’s certainly plausible; I’ve seen similar cases in some war veterans.” Mehmet began. “On top of that, the scars coincide with him fighting against so-called monsters. However, I’ve never seen such monsters.”

Lambert grimaced. He knew of these monsters, gigantic animals that usually required multiple consecutive attacks to win. They’ve been appearing slowly throughout Fodlan. If the boy was to be believed, he called them their mistakes, then these monsters are manufactured, and that there has been more than originally thought. The only ones that knew were the higher-ups, like King Lambert and Emperor Ionius IX himself.

“Thank you, Doctor Mehmet. It was enlightening to hear the words from an expert. Is there anything else on your mind?” Lambert asked.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I have none at the top of my head. However, I will let you know if anything happens. Will that be all?” Mehmet bowed.

“Yes, thank you. Glenn, Patricia, join me to my room,” Lambert thanked Mehmet and began walking to his guest room.

<br>

Once inside the guest chambers, Lambert asked that Patricia cast a Silence spell around the room.

“Glenn, what I am about to tell you never comes out of this room. Only a limited amount of people knows what I am about to tell you,” Lambert began ominously and sat on a chair. Patricia followed, but Glenn remained standing.

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Glenn accepted, standing at attention.

“At ease, Glenn,” Lambert sighed. Glenn was too much of a straight arrow. “Those monsters that the boy mentioned, those are real. They do exist.”

Glenn tilted his head. “Really, your Majesty? How come no one has seen any around?”

“Because Rodrigue, along with Gustave, usually go on expeditions to kill the ones that do appear. If what the boy said is right, he also hunts these monsters. The implication, however, is worse: these monsters can be made. It requires a severe amount of power to penetrate their skin, and on top of that, they seem to heal at certain points and must continually be attacked.

“As for who knows, only the Adrestian Emperor and Prime Minister know in the Adrestian Empire while Gustave and Rodrigue from Faerghus. Of course, this includes whatever soldiers they bring in with them for subjugation. Archbishop Rhea knows as well, but the Monastery is considered neutral ground; they can’t exactly bring in an army. We have had more well-known knights like Alois, current Captain of the Holy Knights of Seiros, and more recently, the newly knighted Distant Archer, Shamir. However, we can’t count on them all the time. They’re far too well-known and them constantly disappearing from the Archbishop’s side would raise red flags. We absolutely cannot have civilians learn about their existence.” Lambert finished answering.

Glenn finally caught up, and paled. “Then this means that this issue has to be brought up to Lady Rhea.”

Lambert nodded. An unknown enemy and finally a source to all these monsters. Maybe they can put an end to all these problems.

“Glenn, leave us; I’d like to talk to my husband privately.” Patricia suddenly spoke.

Glenn saw Patricia’s seriousness and could only nod in response. He bowed and left the room.

“Something occupies your mind, my love. You don’t usually take control of conversations like that. I noticed you did it as well with the child.” Lambert pondered.

“I-I must ask first: did you know Edelgard, my daughter, was in Fhirdiad along with Volkhard?” Patricia hesitantly asked.

“I knew Volkhard was Faerghus, not necessarily Fhirdiad. I can’t exactly keep track of everyone, as much as I’d like to. And no, there was no Edelgard with Volkhard. There was a child, brown hair in a double ponytail with lavender eyes, but her name was El. She was introduced as Volkhard’s daughter.” Lambert was confused. Of course, he knew about Edelgard; Patricia told him about her before their marriage. 

Patricia paled.

Then, in realization, his eyes widened. “That was Edelgard, wasn’t it?” Patricia could only nod as she was brought to tears.

“H-How? How could no one have noticed? Did you not see them at least once?” The number of coincidences, or perhaps the lack of, was astounding. Patricia and Volkhard should have met at some point. They had an entire year, at least!

“I don’t know! Cornelia was always with me ever since I arrived in Faerghus. She was my guide… She even said…” Patricia’s eyes widened, and then her face morphed into fury. “She knew… She knew Edelgard was here. On top of being the middleman between us, she made sure to keep me away from her too. I can’t believe I trusted that whore!” She heaved, so close to losing her composure.

Lambert was confused. Cornelia? She was the Fhirdiad Court Mage, and has been for ages. If what Patricia said was true, then she had to be apprehended. He cautiously asked, “What did she do, specifically?”

Patricia, brought out of her anger, whipped her head towards Lambert. She fidgeted and looked away in guilt. “I... I must start from the beginning. There is no other way.

“Two years ago, I received news that Edelgard fell to enemy hands. In my desperation, I turned to Cornelia first, instead of you. She was always there, and I trusted her as much as I did you. She revealed that the enemy’s name is Those Who Slither in the Dark. On top of that, she… She told me that it was you that kept Edelgard away from me, that you were with them. I believed her.”

Lambert stared in disbelief. Surprise at her words, sadness that she believed he would keep anything from her, and panic at what her words implicated her. He opened his mouth to say something, but Patricia held a hand to stop him.

“Please, let me finish my story. I know now it was such a blatant lie. I should have remembered that you loved me. But that’s all in the past; I fully believed her lie and from there, began hating you.”

Lambert slumped in his chair, placed his elbows on top of his thighs, put his hands together, as if in prayer, and then head on his fingers.

‘ _My wife hated me. I never noticed it, nor the fact that she was in pain._ Lambert was horrified. _I’m a terrible husband._ _If only I talked to her more, if only I kept an eye on her rather than have a middleman like Cornelia._ ’

Lambert grit his teeth. ‘ _That woman. The first thing I do when I arrive is to find and apprehend her. Lying to the royal family, staging a divide between the King and Queen Consort should be treason enough._ ’ His hands tightened their grip on his head to massage an incoming headache. But there was an ongoing matter to deal with, and she was right in front of him.

He looked up to Patricia. “There’s more, isn’t there? What is it?”

Patricia took a deep breath and exhaled. She repeated it once more before she continued. “The assassination from two days ago was orchestrated by Cornelia and me. I gave her everything I could get about the expedition. Routes, rotations, priority targets, retreat strategy, everything.”

The truth was revealed, and frankly, Lambert wasn’t surprised. He could connect the dots, especially after everything that Patricia said. It made sense of how the enemy seemed to know everything about Lambert and his army. Of course, they seemed to know everything because they did know everything. The only thing they didn’t know was how strong the Knights would hold against their assaults to get the royal family to safety.

‘ _Goddess, my chest hurts._ ’ Lambert took a couple of deep breaths to help ease the pain. It did, but barely.

As much as he wanted to hate Patricia, he couldn’t, not really. He completely understood where she was coming from. If another country kidnapped Dimitri, he’d be furious, too furious to listen to reason. He’d drop everything and wage war, possibilities of victory be damned. He’d keep going until he was sure Dimitri was safe and sound, even if he’d carve a bloody path through Fodlan. He loved Dimitri too much.

Patricia matched that love, he knew this. Lambert saw it whenever she interacted with Dimitri. He wasn’t her biological son, yet she loved him as if he were. Lambert was always grateful for her acceptance of Dimitri.

Still…

“I love you, Patricia. I hope you know that.” Lambert began as he looked straight at Patricia’s eyes. “I cannot hate you, even after everything that has happened. But know that things have changed. I’m hurt that you would think I would lie to you. If Edelgard arrived in Fhirdiad and I knew she did, I would love her as if she was my own daughter, just as you did to Dimitri.” Patricia closed her eyes to stop the tears from flowing, but she failed.

Lambert sighed. It hurt him to see her cry like this. “Enough. We can speak more about this at a later date. Is there anything else you’d like to say?” 

Patricia shook her head. The room was filled with silence, only broken by Patricia’s sobs. Lambert stared at the ceiling of the room, deep in thought.

He needed to think about what to do next. There was the matter of returning to Fhirdiad as soon as possible. He had to hunt down Cornelia too, but given everything that has happened, he wasn’t sure if Cornelia was still in her castle.

Then, he remembered the boy’s words. ‘ _He could track monsters. What stops him from tracking humans?_ ’ Lambert abruptly stood up. Patricia looked up to him in surprise.

Lambert looked down at Patricia. “How would you feel about getting back at Cornelia?”

<br>

Emiya was resting on top of his bed, watched by two guards.

‘ _Heh, I think that was good enough. Being a Counter Guardian was definitely what I just described: I was nothing more but a glorified janitor for humanity’s mistakes. The tables and chairs are a bit embellished, but the blood was certainly there every time I was summoned._

‘ _It’s too bad that they didn’t continue talking outside. For now, it’s a matter of just waiting for their verdict. I gave them the escapee story and by affirming parts of their story, it should sound believable. If only they’d take it. Letting me go might be too much to ask, but I don’t have a lot to work with. I’ll need my armor too. The native armor might not be strong enough for me and most likely be worse all-around._ ’

He continued to rummage through his memories and thoughts, to see if he missed any detail. Nope, it seemed like he played his best without saying too much to implicate himself as an enemy, which he isn’t.

The door opened and he opened his eyes.

“Leave us,” Lambert ordered the two guards gruffly. The two bowed and left, missing the fact that Patricia’s eyes were puffy red, and that Lambert seemed ready to kill something.

‘ _Did she finally tell him her role in all this?_ ’ Emiya thought.

“Hello again, sir.” Emiya started.

“Hello again indeed. You gave us so much information to ponder that we missed one of our original goals in visiting you.” Lambert responded.

“And that is?” Emiya asked. ‘ _Did I do something?_ ’

“To thank you for what you did that night. You only just escaped and instead of using the assassination attempt to truly disappear, you ran back and protected us. You even saved her,” Lambert gestured to Patricia and Patricia nodded. “For that, we are grateful.”

‘ _Yes, I’m safe._ ’

“However.” ‘ _Damn it, I celebrated too early._ ’ “You mentioned that you tracked and killed these monsters.” Lambert’s face tightened into a frown, and his grip tightened. He was going to kill something. “I would like to ask for your services. Find me a human alive, and I’ll get you anything you want. I swear this as Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd, King of Faerghus.”

Emiya could only stare in disbelief, and before he could stop, chuckles left. The chuckles became crazed laughs as he threw his head back. He suddenly looked back at Lambert’s stony frown.

“One prison to another? Fine, I’ll take it! Just one last mission; Promise me I don’t have to do anything like this anymore. That’s my condition, that’s what I want.” Emiya’s face was furious as he grit his teeth. ‘ _How many times did I tell myself that? How many times did I try to convince myself that-_ ‘

“On top of finding the target, Cornelia Arnim , I ask that you find a girl named Hapi. She has been abused and experimented on by your target for her Crest.” Patricia abruptly added and Lambert’s head whipped to face her.

‘ _What?_ ’

“When were you going to tell me about her? Cornelia was experimenting on someone?” Lambert asked incredulously. 

Patricia faced Lambert as she grimaced. “It happened in the past two years. You know I couldn’t exactly… You know…”

The two argued, missing the horror on Emiya’s face.

Experimentations all for her Crest.

Experimentations on her power.

_ Senpai. _

Suddenly, Emiya’s eyes were filled with purple hair and a red-pink ribbon. He choked trying to breathe. His hands slowly twitched higher, reaching for the hair and ribbon that he saw.

<br>

Lambert and Patricia stopped talking between themselves as they saw the boy reached out in the air. Of course, Patricia didn’t know what was going on. She was a noblewoman. She fled the Adrestian Empire and never fought on the battlefield before.

Lambert, however, understood. ‘ _He’s reliving a memory._ ’ He’s seen this enough when he came back from the war from Sreng. Soldiers would jump in the middle of their sleep, even when they were safe in the middle of the barracks. Some soldiers refused to wield weapons, opting to leave the army, never hearing from them again. Of course, he was like that too when he just started. However, with Gustave watching over him and Rodrigue by his side, he always had someone to confide with or protect his back. As he grew up, the tendency stopped, and life carried on for him.

‘ _What happened to him to cause such things?_ ’ The child must have had gone through wars, or something traumatically similar.

Lambert looked at Patricia. “Go find Mehmet! Tell him the boy is reliving a memory!” Patricia nodded and rushed towards the door.

But, before Patricia could open the door, the child’s voice rang out. “That won’t be necessary.” Both adults looked back at the boy. What? The boy was looking straight at Lambert, his hands gripping the mattress blanket as if the blanket was going to run away.

“I’m fine,” the boy reassured them, as useless as it was. “Do you have something that came from her? Anything works, items made by hand, or anything made by metal, work best though. When do I start?”

Lambert took a step back. The boy’s face was filled with rage and conviction, and it surprised him.

“You can start soon, in a few days.” The boy nodded.

<br>

Emiya nodded.

‘ _Soon. I failed to see it the first time. I won’t fail again._ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Notes:
> 
> Happy New Year's everyone. I made a slight mistake in the first two chapters.
> 
> Lambert should have been referred to as "Your Highness." Dedue did this a lot in canon towards Dimitri.
> 
> "Your Majesty" is one for those related to gods/divine or were chosen by said parties. In Fodlan, Emperor Ionius IX would be referred to as such.
> 
> 2021/02/05 Edit:
> 
> EMIYA -> Emiya
> 
> Added description of Mehmet, but it’s only slightly there. I’m not good at making OCs.
> 
> Formatting has been changed.
> 
> Miscellaneous grammar or spelling errors have been changed.
> 
> No major plot changes.
> 
> Thunderstrike Catherine has been changed to Alois, current Captain of the Knights of Seiros. This is because Catherine became a Knight of Seiros since she ran away after being blamed of the Tragedy of Duscur. She ran away and was saved by Rhea. At this point, Alois has been Captain for years now.
> 
> Jeralt also now has a daughter, female Byleth, age 17. At this point, she has experience as a mercenary and has only started to get the nickname Ashen Demon.
> 
> 2021/02/19 Edit:
> 
> As someone pointed out, it’s supposed to be Majesty for both kings and emperors. I made this error because I thought Dimitri was called “Highness” in canon, even past the timeskip. However, this is wrong because Dimitri became king after the final map and Dedue calls him “Majesty”.


	4. Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seige of the Traitor's Castle.

Cornelia was beginning to doubt her position amongst Those Who Slither in the Dark. It has been five days since the fated day that Lambert died. It has also been five days since he last heard anything from Thales. No confirmation, no go-ahead from him. On top of that, Rodrigue, along with his men, left the capital for something. Her spies in Fhirdiad has given her nothing, everything was being kept under wraps. Gustave stayed behind the capital, however, to hold the line in case something happens.

At this point, it should have been obvious that something was wrong. If anyone were in their right mind, it would have been right to assume they were abandoned.

However, in her pride and madness, those thoughts never entered Cornelia’s mind. To her, she was useful! She was the sole foothold Those Who Slither in the Dark had in Faerghus. She was far too important to just throw away in the wayside. She had to be!

And so, she sat on her ass in the safety of her own quarters in her castle. Her private quarter was pompous, filled with the most expensive and comfortable things she could get. Of course, her expenses never reached the ears of Patricia or Lambert. Afterall, everything came from the money of the men of her castle, and so, she never spent gold for it. On the other hand, her castle was a modest one, not meant to show off. Many nobles had called it small for a castle, more so for the Court Mage of Faerghus. However, Cornelia ignored them. Afterall, the outside of her castle was made to make sure it looked unassuming. She even had a separate private quarter for when she had visitors, which was more subdued and matched her castle. All this effort was so that Those Who Slither in the Dark, through Cornelia, would gain a foothold and grow stronger in the shadows of Faerghus, as they did in Adrestia. They finally secured enough influence with Patricia under Cornelia’s thumb and Thales had ordered the assassination of the Faerghus royal family. With the royal family dead, Cornelia was the strongest in Faerghus, and even more so in her own castle.

It was not that her confidence was unfounded. Her men were loyal to her, loyal enough to die for her. Her ‘gifts’, medallions made from Agarthan technology, made it easy for her to control those who wore them. Her soldiers may be physically strong, but their minds were weak, and they fell before they finished their training. She also gave Patricia a medallion, but her will was strong; it took Cornelia a long time to get her hold on her, and even then, that hold was shaky at best. Even inside Cornelia’s castle, Patricia was able to feel sympathy and noticed that child.

Ah, yes, Hapi; She was also another card she had. Her Crest was very interesting: it let her befriend animals and other living beings easily. The most interesting part was that it also included monsters, both natural and artificial. Through Cornelia’s experiments, Hapi was able to summon them through her sighs. That part certainly stumped her. Why her sighs, Cornelia never knew nor understood. Their tests didn’t come to a plausible conclusion. And so, they trained her to keep her emotions in check, all so that she wouldn’t unknowingly sigh.

With Hapi serving as the core of her defenses, her castle was nigh impenetrable!

Her castle was surrounded by forests all around, with a clearing around the castle. No one would be able to run through that clearing without being seen.

Even with all the knights Faerghus could throw at her, she’ll survive, especially with Thales’s gift, as thanks for the information on Lambert’s expedition through Duscur.

A hurried knock on her doors took her out of her stupor. “Lady Cornelia!”

“What is it?” Cornelia asked.

“Soldiers in rotations are disappearing around the castle grounds. Scouts sent to find out what happened have not returned either. We’ve sent messengers to Fhirdiad for help.” The soldier responded behind the closed doors.

Cornelia sighed. Yes, the drawback to her men was that they were nearly incapable of self-thought. They had specific instructions that they would follow but never did anything of it. Eat, walk their rotation, welcome visitors, rest, and sleep. They were similar to the Golems the Church used, but were flesh and blood, requiring human needs.

Cornelia massaged her head. Still, they kept quiet and she didn’t have to hide anything except surprise visitors. Even maids and cooks were under her control through the medallions.

“This is not something I have to deal with. Perhaps you just need to look around again. The scouts are probably doing their job, scouting.” Cornelia stressed that last sentence. “Where’s the Quartermaster? This is his job.”

“He’s… Um… He’s gone as well, Lady Cornelia.” The soldier stammered out. “We already did defer to him. We only deferred to you when he didn’t come back.”

‘ _What?_ ’ This is impossible. Her soldiers wouldn’t disappear like that, especially someone like the Quartermaster. Sure, the occasional monster may drop by and take out some of her men, but the Quartermaster could take one on, especially with the enhancements Thales did to her men.

Something was going on.

Cornelia began changing to her proper Court Mage attire. “I’ll be right- “

“Lady Cornelia!” A new voice rang out. “We’re being attacked! The castle gates opened, and the castle is surrounded! Lambert is currently leading the charge!”

‘ _What?_ ’

Then, the explosions and screaming started.

<br>

‘ _An hour before the siege._ ’

Emiya wasn’t used to laying sieges on a castle and at the same time, get someone out alive, much less two people. As he finished setting a magic circle the perimeter around Cornelia’s castle, a circle that used daggers engraved with a silencing rune on them, he looked back at what happened after he received his latest assignment.

<br>

‘ _Soon. I failed to see it the first time. I won’t fail again._ ’

“You said that you need something that came from Cornelia, right? Something to track her down?” Patricia asked, bringing Emiya back to reality.

“Yes, I can use almost anything, but metal and items made by hand work best,” Emiya answered.

Patricia brought a medallion from somewhere in her dress.

‘ _How? I thought dresses didn’t have pockets_ , _’_ Emiya thought.

“I received this from Cornelia when I arrived. As a gift from someone I thought of as a friend, I kept it close. Will this be enough?” Patricia asked.

Emiya activated Structural Analysis on the medallion. He was sickened by what he saw.

“More than enough. That’s the same kind of medallion they used on me in the beginning, when I tried to escape. It has a slight hypnotizing spell, weakening the minds of those who wore it. With that, they were more accepting of suggestions.” At that point, Emiya had to stop using Structural Analysis on the medallion. It gave him a headache, too much information for his young brain to take in.

Patricia paled as she turned to Lambert. “Everyone in her castle has this medallion, calling it her gift for their services.”

Lambert’s face transformed into one of fury. “A castle full of traitors, and all deep within Faerghus. I’ll have that woman’s head hang from the gates of her own home!”

Emiya nodded. There was more information from what he saw than he read due to Tracing allowing him to see the history of weapons. The medallion apparently was close enough. A man named Thales gave that medallion to Cornelia. Not only that, but he also saw Thales’s face.

A man with a gaunt, pale face, pointy beard. His hair was all white, was pulled back, and had a very long window’s peak. His eyes had white pupils, making it look like his eyes were white all-around. His eyes were deep under his eyebrows, giving him a menacing look. It certainly made an impression.

‘ _That is certainly a villain’s face. What is it with villains having window’s peak? Wait, I also had one! Damn it!_ ’

Emiya finally remembered, his Counter Guardian body had a similar cut, just shorter all around.

‘ _I’m changing that when it comes._ ’

Shaking his head, he looked at Lambert. “You said I can start in a few days? What are we waiting for?”

“I’ve sent messengers two days ago back to Fhirdiad. Rodrigue, my right-hand man and best friend, should be arriving soon with his set of knights. This time, they’re bringing the better weapons in our armory.

“We will begin moving back to Fhirdiad when they arrive. In the middle of our return, you will proceed to Cornelia’s castle and apprehend her. Everyone will follow.” Lambert laid out his plan.

Emiya’s face was one of disbelief. “Hold on, why does everyone have to follow me? I’m the one that took the mission.”

“Yes, I know. However, you are trained to kill monsters, not lay siege to an entire castle,” Lambert countered.

Emiya narrowed his eyes. “Then what about my freedom? You won’t turn back on that when you’re forcing your help on me.”

“No, you will still be free afterward. Just think of me, and by extension my army, as a personal vendetta. I didn’t lie when I’ll have her head. Kill her guards, bring Cornelia to me alive, and save the girl, Hapi.” Lambert glanced at Patricia when he mentioned Hapi and turned back to Emiya. “Her castle is surrounded by a forest and a clearing separates that forest from her castle. You’ll need a distraction if you want to get inside.”

“That’s… That’s certainly thought out.” Emiya raised an eyebrow at Lambert.

Lambert shrugged. “Not really. We’re essentially bringing an army through a forest. It’ll be hard to go through with an army. On top of that, we don’t have anything to force the castle gates open. If I had Rodrigue with me and days to plan, I’m certain we would have a better plan. There are also the scouts around the castle perimeter. I’m certain they’ll see us and report back to Cornelia.”

Emiya smirked. “Don’t worry about the gate or those scouts. I can handle those.”

Lambert nodded, “Very well then.” He then stroked his chin, deep in thought. “You said you had no name. How would you feel about me giving you a name?”

“Eh?” Both Patricia and Emiya were surprised.

‘ _It’s happening again, isn’t it?_ ’

Lambert scratched the back of his head. “Well, I can’t exactly keep calling you ‘boy’ or ‘child’.”

 _His_ voice rang inside Emiya’s head.

‘ _My name is Emiya Kiritsugu and I’m a magus. If you want, I can adopt you. I’ll give you a name too._ ’

“If-If you’re going to give a name, can it include Emiya in it?” Emiya stammered out. “It feels right.”

Emiya? Lambert and Patricia have never heard of that name before. Lambert will have to find some time to track that name. It didn’t follow the naming conventions of Faerghus nor of Adrestia’s.

Still, if the boy believes that name to be right, then Lambert has to accept.

Lambert nodded. “Very well. From now on, your name shall be Agilulf Emiya.”

<br>

Emiya looked behind him. Cornelia’s men laid on the ground behind him, unconscious.

After that talk in Duscur, it took another half a day for Rodrigue to arrive. Wasting no time, the army, along with Lambert, Patricia, Glenn, Dimitri, and the new addition of Emiya, marched back to Fhirdiad. On the way, Rodrigue caught up on what happened. His eyes dangerously flashed when he heard that Cornelia was behind the attack. He didn’t hesitate to accept laying siege on the traitor’s castle.

And just a bit behind the pile of Cornelia’s unconscious men, Lambert and his men hid in the shadows of the forest. They waited as Emiya surrounded the clearing perimeter with his swords, creating an area where no noise could be heard.

Emiya turned back to Cornelia’s castle. It was nothing grand nor large. It was… okay. It’s a castle with stone walls. To be honest, Emiya was prepared to see a lavish castle, ready to show Cornelia’s pride and splendor. 

‘ _Then again, that would draw attention to her castle and, by extension, her. If she’s performing experiments, she’d want her castle to be unassuming, just normal. It wouldn’t be the type of castle to throw parties in, thus fewer visitors._ ’ Emiya surmised.

He turned to Lambert. Patricia, Glenn, and Dimitri were right next to him. Rodrigue was on the other side of the clearing. While Lambert led the majority of the invasion force, Rodrigue’s role was to make sure no one was escaped from the back. If Cornelia escaped and he faced her, Fire spells would be fired towards the sky, signaling that the enemy was on him and for everyone to hurry and support him. Patricia would heal the front lines while Glenn protected Dimitri.

While there was a small argument on where Dimitri would be, it was decided that right next to Lambert and Glenn was the best choice. Rodrigue only had a force small enough to stall someone like Cornelia. Certainly, the better choice would be for Dimitri to be sent to Fhirdiad, but after the assassination attempt, Lambert did not feel anywhere else was safe.

“Perimeter has been secured. We can make as much noise as we want, and the castle won’t hear a thing.”

Patricia was surprised. “I’ve never seen such a large area under the Silence spell. I’ve also never seen spells be imbued to anything.”

“It’s nothing special. They’re just small Silencing spells overlapping, essentially combining to make a bigger area.” Emiya nodded at Patricia and turned back to Lambert. “Your Majesty, I would like to ask that I go first and for the army to wait. I’ll be able to get through the clearing and get the castle gate open. From there, you can enter the castle walls and charge through the castle proper.”

“Hold on, that means you’re the distraction then, not us! We are not sending you to your death!” Glenn shouted.

Emiya’s eyes twitched. “I thought I asked His Majesty? And let me correct you: it won’t be you that sending me to my death. It’ll be me sending myself to open the castle gates.” Emiya pointed to the pile of Cornelia’s men nearby. “If this is the skill they have, then this will be easy. On top of that, having one person enter and open the gates will make sure that everyone is ready for the charge. Better that than be sitting ducks.”

Glenn narrowed his eyes and worked his jaw. In realization, his mouth slightly opened. “You just don’t want people to get hurt when you can help it, don’t you?”

Emiya’s eyes widened in surprise and glared at Glenn. “No, this is the smarter way of doing it.” He turned to Lambert. “Your Majesty, your word?”

Lambert stroked his beard and nodded.

With Lambert’s acceptance, Emiya walked back to where the forest met the clearing. “The castle gates opening will be the signal to charge. Once I’ve cleared the area of soldiers, I won’t wait; I’m charging into the castle,” he said without turning back. With that, he began his entrance. 

On top of his black armor was No Face May King, one of Robin Hood’s Noble Phantasm. It was a cloak that hid its user, erasing any signs of the user such that their appearance meld into the forest. It was a cheat item, disabling any way for anyone to get a read on the user. However, it can’t be used while attacking, so the enemy can realize that they are being followed but won’t be able to detect the user.

Emiya had traced it as soon as he left Duscur, as an experiment on the effects of the new world on the Traced Noble Phantasms. While Projections did eventually disappear in his old world and Traces did stay almost infinitely long, he wanted to make sure about the effects of the new world. So far, nothing has happened; it has been a couple days since they left Duscur, and there has been no noticeable changes with No Face May King. On top of that, even though it was a non-bladed weapon, making it one of the Noble Phantasms that required more effort to Trace since it wasn’t a sword, he was fully recharged since time has already passed since he Traced it.

Emiya clutched No Face May King, put on the hood, and ran through the clearing.

<br>

Agilulf put his hood on and he took off to the castle. Glenn shouted at Agilulf, only to realize that none of the guards atop the castle walls took notice of him. Lambert continued to look on as Agilulf kept running towards the wall.

‘ _Ah, Agilulf reached the castle wall. How’s he going to… Using swords as footholds to climb the walls? Clever,_ ’ Lambert thought.

As everyone watched, right before Agilulf reached the top of the walls, he summoned steel swords and launched them towards the closest unsuspecting guards. They died silently and Agilulf made sure to stay low as he stopped the dead guards from hitting the ground. No noise nor alarms sounded. Agilulf reached the inside of the walls without notice.

“Goddess…” Glenn mumbled.

Lambert shared his sentiment. It was clear that Agilulf was trained in infiltration and was used to killing people too. There was no hesitation in his actions as he cut through the remaining guards at the top of the castle walls.

He soon disappeared, and after a few tense minutes, the castle gate opened.

Lambert took a deep breath.

“Charge!”

The forest soon awoke to the sounds of armor and heavy footsteps as they charged towards the castle. However, the noise was suddenly cut off, as the army invaded the castle.

<br>

‘ _How?! How did Lambert survive?! How is he here already?! He should be dead, along with the rest of the royal family!_ ’

Cornelia could hardly believe it. Lambert was at her doorsteps and was currently invading her castle.

‘ _Damn you, Thales! Worthless sack of pale shit! He had everything and he failed to kill Lambert! So now, he abandons me because of his failure?! Damn him!_ ’

Cornelia kept cursing inside her mind. She was caught unaware and was running through the inside of her castle. She had to reach the dungeons, where she kept Thales’s gift and Hapi, where her last lines of defenses were.

As she reached another hallway, she looked around and froze.

The hallway was littered with the bodies of her dead men. A body slid down from the walls as a man stepped back. No, it wasn’t a man, it was a boy. He turned towards her and their eyes met.

Cornelia involuntarily took a step back. Her body was numb, and she froze, stunned by the boy’s glare. He wore black armor that covered only his body, pants, and boots. He was drenched in so much dark crimson blood, it was hard to differentiate between the blood and the armor.

Suddenly, blue electricity ran around the boy’s body and swords began forming.

Cornelia shot a quick Death spell at the boy and ran the opposite way, deeper into her castle. She didn’t look back to make sure the boy was hit.

All she had to do was-

A sword shot from behind her, cutting her left ear as it whistled by her.

“Argh!” Cornelia shrieked in pain as she almost stumbled but caught herself. She used dark magic to levitate herself as she ran away from the boy.

She knew the boy was still alive. She knew he was hunting her down.

‘ _So long as I get to the Titanus, I win. I’ll kill this brat and everyone in this castle. They have no hope against it! With Hapi summoning monsters, my victory is secured!_ ’

Cornelia led the chase through her castle hallways. The boy was constantly right behind her, launching those swords at her. She figured out that those same swords could be stopped by her magic circles and began shielding herself. It took more of her energy as she now had to shield herself along with levitating her body, but at least she still had the rest of her body parts.

At this point, she lost her regal look. Her forehead was coated with sweat. Her hair also came undone during the chase and much of her hair was cut by stray swords the boy launched. Her dress was also cut up and certain points, as if the boy were aiming at specific places.

‘ _Arms, legs, a bit on the shoulders and hips, but nothing fatal. Perhaps he wants me alive?_ ’

She was wanted alive. She could still get away from him. She still had a chance.

She turned into a stairway going down and the air became damp and cold. She smirked.

‘ _I won!_ ’

Pushing herself even more than before, she rushed down the steps. At the bottom lied a large chamber. There stood her prized possession, the Titanus. Deeper the chamber lied Hapi atop a table in the middle of a magic circle.

She ran behind the Titanus and turned around, waiting for the predator who had inadvertently become her prey.

Steps resounded slowly, purposefully, and the moments stretched, seeming as if she waited for him forever.

He appeared right at the entrance of the chamber. He looked up at the Titanus and his eyebrows in surprise. Afterward, he looked right back at her. No, he looked behind her, right at the table with Hapi. His face hardened and his eyes became cold. His eyebrows scrunched up into a frown.

“You have no hope, boy. You’ll die here, along with the rest of the royal army! Lambert will die in the soil of his own kingdom, and his people will never know!”

As she finished, the boy raised his left and swiftly brought it down. He didn’t summon swords. She tried to move but found her body was frozen.

‘ _What?_ ’

“What did you do?! Why can’t I move? Release me!” At the very least, she could still speak. “Foolish boy, you think I’m useless now that I can’t move?! Titanus, crush him!” She shrieked as she was forced to watch as the battle began.

The chamber rumbled as the Titanus moved. The boy began running towards his right, summoning steel swords, and then shot them towards it. However, before the swords reached the monster, a yellow barrier stopped, as if it were a shell atop the monster.

The monster brought its right hand up and slashed at the boy and the ground. The flooring cracked and the chamber rumbled as dust flew everywhere. Cornelia tried to keep an eye out for the boy, with what she could with her limited movement, and saw that he jumped out of the dust cloud. He retreated to gain space away from the Titanus.

Steps began to ring out from the front of the chamber. Suddenly, Lambert, Patricia, and several of his men arrived. His eyes roamed through the room. His eyes became wide at the sight of the Titanus and when his eyes saw her, his face distorted to one of rage. Cornelia also saw Patricia and her face was the same.

However, before anything else could happen, the boy finally stopped retreating. He held his hand in front of him, as if holding on to something that wasn’t there.

“I am the bone of my sword.”

It was barely audible, yet those were the words that Cornelia heard. At the end of his chant, the air around became dry and heavy. Cornelia, Lambert, Patricia, and the soldiers took a breath as it became harder to breathe.

They all felt a feeling of dread, as if they were prey, that they had impending doom, as a spear formed on the boy’s hand.

It was crimson red, as if the spear were bathed in blood. The handle was wrapped in some sort of vine or nerves of a body. The spear ended with a sharp point.

The boy took a stance. His feet were should-width apart, his left foot pointed at the Titanus, his right foot behind and pointing slightly to his right side. His left hand held the spear underneath and pointed it down. His right hand held the other end higher than his left.

He glared at the Titanus. The spear suddenly erupted in a red aura, as if it were alive.

“I’ll have your heart!”

The ground around him broke as ran forward. He rushed towards the Titanus at such speeds that it was almost impossible to follow him. Fifteen feet away from the Titanus, his right foot acted as a brake.

“Gae Bolg!” His right hand thrust the spear and it extended towards the Titanus.

The Titanus met the spear and slammed its right-hand sword at it. The two clashed and the force blew the flooring away.

However, the impossible happened. It was as if something had changed. The spear continued and met the yellow barrier.

The barrier’s struggle against the unstoppable spear was quick. Certainly, the barrier was strong, but the Titanus’s main defense was its armor, not the barrier. The sword was also made similarly to the armor. With the barrier weaker than the sword, the spear broke through and punctured the monster.

The insides of the Titanus erupted as iron thorns pierced the monster. The body broke down and crumbled into a heap of steel.

Everyone held their breath as the spear and thorns disappeared into motes of blue light.

However, the silence was broken by a woman gone mad.

Cornelia began to shriek. “How?! How did you destroy the Titanus! It should have been impossible to destroy! No weapon other than a Heroes’ Relic would have been able to deal actual damage to it, much less destroy it!” As she continued to throw a tantrum at the boy, a sword made of wood appeared nearby her and shot towards her forehead. The hit instantly knocked her out. The swords behind her, ones that pierced her shadow, disappeared as she fell to the ground.

As Lambert watched on, he saw that Agilulf’s attention wasn’t at Cornelia, but at the table in the back of the dungeon chamber. Patricia’s breath hitched as she realized who it was. She ran forward, getting ready to use whatever spell she needed to heal Hapi.

<br>

The noise woke Hapi up. Her body still hurt from all the tests and abuse that Cornelia gave the other day. She knew she had bruises near her chest from all the experiments Cornelia had done to find out if her lungs were anything special.

‘ _Idiot, they weren’t special. They’re just regular lungs. As if beating them would tell her anything about my Crest._ ’

Her legs, toes, fingers, and ears felt numb from the cold. She could barely feel them.

She blearily looked around, tilting her head to the side, and saw someone approach her. Behind him was the Titanus Cornelia held in the dungeon. The Titanus was wrecked beyond repair.

Further back, Hapi saw a second person rushing towards her.

‘ _Patricia? What are you doing here?_ ’

As she wondered about Patricia, the first person arrived by her side. That first person turned out to be a boy. He was caked in dried blood and his two eyes, a golden left and gray right, shone intensely. She looked back at him and saw the biggest smile she had ever since.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now.” He held his right hand above her, his palm facing down towards her chest, and then moved it high, higher than his head.

“Trace, On.” Suddenly, electricity moved around his body, and motes of light gathered right underneath his palm. A golden sheathe appeared, lined with blue accents, meeting down the bottom into an X. The sheathe glowed and lit the immediate area.

Hapi felt so warm despite resting atop a stone table. The boy slowly pushed his hand downwards and the sheathe sank into her. She tensed, but the boy held her hand.

“It’ll be ok, don’t worry. I told you, you’re safe now,” he reassured her.

Hapi felt at peace and closed her eyes as tears fell from her cheeks and the sides of her head to the table.

The boy’s words felt reassuring to her ears. As she fell into sleep, her breathing became deeper and evened out. Her chest didn’t hurt as much anymore, and she began to feel her whole body warm-up. She felt electricity prick through her body as the feeling of her ears, toes, and fingers came back to her.

A hand went underneath her head and her knees. She opened her eyes slightly and saw that it was him who was carrying her. He still had his smile on his face.

That smile was nothing like Cornelia’s. Yes, hers was happy too, but it made Hapi’s skin crawl every time she saw it. The malicious glint, the slight sneer.

This smile? It felt so genuine, and when it was targeted at her, she felt happy too. It felt good.

‘ _I could get used to this._ ’

Careful not to sigh, she leaned towards the boy as her fingers tried to cling to his armor.

Sleep never felt this good before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:
> 
> I tried my best to make it look like the NPs were broken as all hell, which they should be, while sticking to canon.
> 
> Gae Bolg, in my fic, can kill these metal Titanus bots because all monsters made by Agartha runs using Artificial Crest Stones. These Crest Stones act as a heart for these monsters, and even for the Agarthans. Kronya’s heart was taken by Solon in that chapter where Sothis and Byleth combine.
> 
> And yes, I know Avalon only works with Saber around, but hear me out. Being around Saber charges Avalon like a battery. It’s how Kiritsugu healed Shirou in F/Z when Saber was no longer around. Avalon was charged, healed Shirou, and stayed inert until Shirou summoned Saber. From there, it began charging up again. In the Emiya vs Shirou fight, Saber stood and watched as the two fought in UBW. We can see Shirou’s Avalon working to heal him from his wounds. Who’s to say Emiya’s version of Avalon wasn’t charging up too, just from proximity? I say it did charge. I mean, come on, how could Emiya survive getting attacked by Gilgamesh in the Einzbern mansion? He went to his astral form, healed with Avalon, and had some Saber battery left. That’s how it’s going to go here. Of course, the battery is now shot and the sheathe is running empty, nada. No more Avalon.
> 
> I also tried to describe the NP usage like in the Ufotable anime, if that helps. I’m not a description guy. I like to tell what happened and let my mind make the pictures.
> 
> Edit: I’ve edited the name for Emiya from Sila Oruzhiya to Agilulf. Someone commented that Sila has a feminine connotation. Through the site Behind the Names, I found something that fits Agilulf. It’s Germanic and comes from both agil (edge of the blade) and wulf (wolf). Germanic, from Merriam Webster, is English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Frisian, the Scandinavian languages, and Gothic. Dimitri and Lambert’s etymology section mentions French, Egyptian, Slavic, etc. On top of that, Blaiddyd is Wolf-Lord in Welsh.
> 
> 2021/02/05 Edit:
> 
> EMIYA -> Emiya
> 
> Various grammar or spelling edits.
> 
> Added some description of Cornelia’s castle, but I’m terrible with description.
> 
> Various formatting edits.
> 
> Changed Carnwennan to No Face May King. I felt that No Face May King would serve Emiya better here than Carnwennan since Carnwennan should be used in darkness; it wasn’t meant to run through a clearing during an afternoon. No Face May King works because the castle is surrounded by a forest and the clearing is made of grass. Plus, it helped put a small exposition about an experiment that Emiya had been doing. I’ve also added an extra blurb about No Face May King.
> 
> 2021/02/19 Edit:
> 
> As someone pointed out, it’s supposed to be Majesty for both kings and emperors. I made this error because I thought Dimitri was called “Highness” in canon, even past the timeskip. However, this is wrong because Dimitri became king after the final map and Dedue calls him “Majesty”.


	5. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The butterfly effects have started.

Seteth sighed as he placed a letter from Faerghus back to his desk, a desk with stacks of paper from all the administrative work across the Church and Monastery. He massaged his forehead with both hands as a headache began to form.

The contents themselves were not the problem. Approximately seven days ago, there was an assassination attempt on the Royal Family during an expedition. They survived and learned that their own Court Mage was behind it. They later laid siege and handily won.

In all honesty, it was all good news. Lambert was a good man, from what Seteth remembered during one of his visits to the Monastery. However, the Monastery and Church were neutral grounds. They were usually not told that assassination attempts actually occurred through a direct letter like this. Goddess, the Church did not act when the Insurrection of the Seven occurred in Adrestia. That was their problem, and the Church was neutral ground.

No, what gave Seteth a headache were the assassins. From what the letter said, they wore dark hoods and used the Death spell at some point. During the siege, Lambert was also able to retrieve an unknown metal from a construct powered by an artificial Crest Stone. It was impossible, and yet, the letter said otherwise. Lambert was personally holding on to the Crest Stone until he received word from the Church on what to do.

In addition to that, two children were rescued. Well, one of them was more of an escapee. A boy escaped from the enemy, showed unknown magic, and a body that was stronger than normal. A girl that was experimented on by their Court Mage and was currently resting in Fhirdiad. The letter didn’t go into detail about the unknown magic, in the possibility that the letter was intercepted.

And finally, the metaphorical last nail in the coffin was the last word of their Court Mage. She was captured after the siege upon her castle. She woke up in the custody of Lambert. She began spouting nonsense and then erupted in dark fire. It seemed that Lambert felt that her last words were important, or, rather, her last word. He felt that it was important, though he didn’t understand what it meant.

He picked up the letter to make sure his eyes didn’t play tricks on him. He read the letter again and the written last word still sent chills down his spine.

_Thales._

Suddenly, he wasn’t in his office in the Monastery anymore. He began having trouble breathing as burnt flesh filled his lungs. Sweat clung to his skin as he felt the fire all around him. He heard the dying screams of the dead, both family and foe.

Their past was coming back to haunt them.

Goddess, how was he going to explain this all to Sei- Rhea? If this was his reaction to just reading that name, how was she going to react? He knew that she took everything even worse than he did. He was sure that she wasn’t over what happened yet, even after all the years that passed. She put on her mask of serenity quite well, and none have seen through it. Only he and his daughter saw through it. Rhea was more childish back then, happier, more talkative. Now, she was quiet and far too serene. Something was underneath that mask, and he was afraid that this letter would bring that something to the surface.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. He did it again and stood up. No use delaying the inevitable. As the Archbishop, she would have heard of this sooner or later.

He held the letter and hid it in a pocket. He left his room and locked the doors. He can’t have anyone come in without him.

Seteth turned and began his walk towards the Audience Chamber. He passed some of the staff walking about, though no students. It was nearing the end of the Lone Moon and the students were either slowly arriving from their visits of their families for a few weeks or were using the various facilities throughout the grounds.

As he reached the doors of the Audience Chamber, he nodded at the guards before they announced his arrival and opened the doors. At the end of the chamber were stairs that led to a singular chair. Rhea sat atop that chair, calm and serene. Some nuns were walking about the chambers as Rhea supervised them.

“Seteth? What brings you here?” Rhea asked. With the year ending and no missions to coordinate, Rhea had most likely assumed Seteth would spend his time with Flayn, not with her.

“I received a letter from Fhirdiad, and I would like to discuss its contents.” Seteth stood stiff, knowing that he had to tread carefully. He didn’t want her to explode in anger.

Rhea didn’t notice his nervousness, too focused on the nuns in the room. “Well then, please begin. Is it a letter to begin Prince Dimitri’s education here? I believe he is too young to begin.”

“No, it isn’t. However, can we discuss this alone?” He stressed the need for privacy.

Rhea narrowed her eyes and took a closer look at Seteth. She noticed a few things that she missed before: Seteth’s slightly glossy forehead, his clenched jaw and fists, his slight trembling, and even his somewhat uneven breathing. They were so minute that none of the nuns have noticed. Luckily, her draconic senses and her knowledge about her brother picked up his nervous state. She rose from her chair.

“Leave us,” she commanded the nuns. “Knights, take a break as well. You’ve earned it.” She smiled at them, to show that there was no problem. The knights hesitated for a moment and bowed. They left with the nuns.

The chamber doors closed and Seteth visibly relaxed, only to tense up again. While the room always had the Silence spell cast on it, having only the two of them helped relieve some of the tension. However, it was only him that may face the Archbishop’s wrath.

“What’s wrong, Seteth? Is it so important that we must talk alone? I also thought that I gave you leave for the day to spend it with Flayn,” Rhea began.

Seteth sighed. “Yes, I know. That was the original plan, but the gatekeeper gave me this letter in haste, said something about how the messenger was out of breath and seemed ready to drop to his feet. The gatekeeper was slightly disturbed, had the messenger sent to the infirmary, and gave me the letter.” He held out the letter. “The contents are disturbing. I…”

Rhea looked at Seteth quizzically. “Well? What news was so important that we must be alone to speak? The Monastery is neutral ground; we cannot just help countries whenever we want anymore. The contents must be either about a threat to all of Fodlan if we must take action or the Monastery is in danger.”

Seteth took a deep breath and looked at her eyes. “I believe that it is a threat to all of Fodlan. The Agarthans are back.”

Suddenly, the air became oppressive. It felt heavy and would have sent normal people to their knees. However, Seteth also had his draconic blood. His breath hitched for a moment as the air became thick with danger. His eyes continued to focus on the Archbishop as he stood his ground.

‘ _There it is_ ,’ Seteth thought.

Rhea looked down at her lap as her bangs hid her eyes. Her grip clenched on her armrests as it threatened to crush it. Already, cracks were forming.

“How?” She asked while she kept her head down. She began to tremble.

“There was an assassination attempt on the Faerghus royal family. They survived and discovered that their Court Mage collaborated with the assassins. They attacked her castle and captured her. However, before they could interrogate her, she was set on fire as she screamed her last words.” He stopped, hoping that he wouldn’t have to utter that name.

“What were those last words?” Rhea’s trembling grew stronger.

“Rhea, I do not think that I- “

“Say it!” She shrieked as her hands destroyed the armrest. She began to heave.

Seteth exhaled a deep breath.

“Thales,” he murmured.

If anyone were in the same chambers, they would have missed him saying that name. However, he was with Rhea. No, he was with Lady Seiros, daughter of their Goddess. Her draconic ears heard him.

Her face jerked up to face him. Seteth almost took a step back, but he stood his ground. Rhea’s eyes were slitted right now. In her rage, she unknowingly channeled her draconic powers, and it began to manifest.

This certainly was Lady Seiros, the one who led the charge against the Agarthans all those centuries ago. The one who killed the King of Liberation, and in revenge of massacring her brethren, led the Agarthan massacre.

Of course, he was afraid. While they were siblings, Lady Seiros led armies to battle and took part in it herself. Seteth could fight, no doubt, but nothing like Lady Seiros. She’d wipe the floor with him, especially when he no longer had his draconic powers.

Rhea noticed Seteth’s discomfort and looked down in guilt. She began to took deep breaths and took control of herself. She stood up and looked up to Seteth again. This time, her eyes were normal and Seteth relaxed.

“How? I thought I killed them all.” She took slow steps as she hesitantly asked.

Seteth shook his head. “I don’t know. The letter didn’t talk about that. Lambert probably didn’t even know who attacked him; I inferred it from the details and the fact that his name was written on this.” Seteth gave her the letter when she reached him.

Rhea read the letter to herself, her eyes quickly scanning it. When she reached the bottom, her jaws clenched again, and her eyes scrunched into a frown. She looked back to Seteth.

“Invite them here. I would like to hear about it in detail. Make sure they know to arrive in haste.” Seteth nodded at her words.

Three knocks sounded from the door. Seteth and Rhea’s heads whipped to the door and a young and sweet voice rang out.

“Lady Rhea? Is everything okay there? Is my brother with you?”

Seteth sharply inhaled. _Flayn._ Goddess, how could he even begin to explain what happened?

However, before Seteth could begin to think of an explanation, Rhea commanded her to enter.

The door slightly opened, and a small head of green hair peeked inside. Flayn’s big, round eyes looked inside. She stepped inside, closed the door, and approached them.

“Is something the matter? I felt you…” Flayn looked at Rhea, and Rhea flinched, remembering her slight loss of control.

Seteth’s shoulders sagged and quickly wrapped Flayn with a hug.

“Huh? Brother? What’s wrong?” Flayn was confused and automatically returned the hug.

Seteth trembled, but he held strong. “I’ll explain, don’t worry.”

<br>

Emiya sunk into his chair as he silently sighed. If anyone asked, he could swear that he saw the same trees outside the carriage hours ago. He’d even swear that he saw them yesterday.

‘ _At least Fuyuki’s skyline varied itself, not that the city had really tall buildings._ ’ He reminisced, then cringed at the fact that he was missing it. _‘No, I’m just bored as all hell. Walking outside with the soldiers would help with keeping his body active._ ’

He glanced at the others in the carriage. King Lambert on his right, Queen Consort Patricia sat in front of Lambert, and Hapi sat in front of Emiya. It has been seven days since they laid siege on Cornelia’s castle. Seven days since they rescued Hapi. Seven days since Cornelia was consumed by black fire, cursing Thales in her dying breath. Perhaps Thales wanted to make sure nothing connected her to him? It was too late though, as Lambert heard it and sent a message to the Archbishop, who they were meeting soon.

From what he learned about the Archbishop and the Church, they united the entire continent of Fodlan to protect themselves against foreign invaders. Otherwise, they were neutral ground; they didn’t even lift a finger when the Insurrection of the Seven happened in Adrestia. The Insurrection was a coup and Adrestia was one of three countries on the continent. It also the biggest one, essentially taking the southern half of the continent.

Honestly, Emiya was surprised the country didn’t divide even more after the Kingdom and the Leicester Alliance split off. Their secessions occurred at least three-hundred years ago. After the success of Faerghus and the Leicester Alliance, someone must have had the bright idea of breaking off as well. As it turned out, no one did, and the continent stabilized.

‘ _No, perhaps they were covered up and hidden? What for? Did the Church intervene because the continent refused to stabilize? Maybe, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time a religious sect acted to contain something in the world._ ’ Emiya smirked slightly at the idea. No matter where he went, some things just don’t change.

“What are you laughing at?” Hapi’s voice broke him out of his thoughts.

Emiya glanced at Hapi and looked outside again. “Nothing, really. Just thought I saw those same trees when we left the capital.”

Emiya wasn’t sure how to act with Hapi. Ever since she woke up four days ago, the girl constantly stole glances at him back in the capital, though she stuck with Patricia for the most part. He could understand why she stuck with Patricia; apparently, they’ve met before and bonded. However, when it came to him, she always set some sort of distance from him, though that distance was getting smaller. Glenn constantly nudged and teased him about it.

Of course, he knew it was puppy love after being rescued. He was sure she’d outgrow it, so he didn’t pay much attention. He recognized it after all. Whenever he stole glances at Hapi, he’d-

_Senpai._

He’d remember her again, though that memory was slowly fading away again. Why was he remembering it now, of all times? He was sure he didn’t have any memories left as Emiya Shirou. The only memories he remembered clearly were-

_I’ll become a Hero of Justice for you. Just leave it to me!_

-And-

_I ask of you, are you my Master?_

Yes, those two moments were his only memories left when he became a Servant. So why was he remembering Sakura after all this time? And, on top of that, he never knew Sakura’s problems in his original timeline, and neither did Emiya Shirou in the last war.

A finger poked his cheek and broke him away from his thoughts. “Hey, are you okay? You look pale,” Hapi leaned towards him and asked.

Emiya looked at Hapi. She couldn’t look any more different from Sakura if they tried. Hapi was dark-skinned with reddish-pink hair and somewhat dark amber eyes. Sakura was slightly pale, with violet hair and eyes. Hapi kept her hair short and was somewhat unruly while Sakura’s was long and smooth.

On top of their physical differences, compared to Sakura’s meekness, Hapi was not quiet because she was shy; she was quiet because she was apathetic to most things and that she was trained to contain her emotions. Now that Hapi was 17 years old, three years his elder, that kind of training would be hard to lose. Hapi will most likely live with stunted emotions, though Emiya couldn’t say much about that.

Emiya Shirou was just like that before, though his reasons were different.

“Hello?” Hapi’s voice rang out again as she kept poking his cheek.

Emiya gently took the finger that kept poking him and lowered it. “I’m fine, Hapi. Thank you though.”

After lowering her finger, he reached out to a tuft of his hair, a part that became white after the Siege of Cornelia’s Castle. Tracing Gae Bolg pushed his body too far and his body showed its reactions. When everyone noticed, he said he pushed himself too far and this was just the body paying its toll. After that, everyone just moved on. Since his magic was all brand-new, it was so easy to get away with anything. Truly, his ‘background’ gave him so much freedom here.

Hapi noticed him playing with his own hair. “Bothered by it?”

“No, not really. Just not used to it.” It has been a while since he had hair like this, when his hair began to turn white. A mix of white and red hair wasn’t normal, even here in Fodlan. While people certainly had weird hair color, most of it were solid colors, and not a mix like his currently was.

Hapi merely nodded and looked outside. Emiya sighed. They were starting to warm up to each other, but he still didn’t know how to act towards her. She reminded him of Sakura, and yet they were so different from each other. This was somewhat new to him. He was used to just being summoned, blow someone up from miles away, and then return that hill of swords as he waited to be used again.

Human interaction was hard. Though, his interactions were Glenn and Dimitri were fine. Glenn certainly didn’t like him for his cynical and not-so-nice mouth. Glenn was the ideal knight, through and through. He was loyal and dedicated to his core, and ever since Glenn swore to be young Dimitri’s Shield, he stuck to the prince’s side almost all day long. Honestly, it was slightly irritatingly similar to Shirou. Just replace being Dimitri’s Shield with being a Hero of Justice.

If there was a silver lining to it all, Glenn never went through the horrors like Emiya once did. On top of that, Glenn understood the implications of being a knight, that he would have to bloody his own hands at times, and that not everyone couldn’t be saved. And, above all that, Emiya knew that Glenn would never be alone, not like how he was. Glenn’s father, Rodrigue, is Lambert’s Shield. There were so many like-minded people around Glenn that there was no way he would be abandoned. And once Rodrigue passed on, Glenn had at least his fiancé, who wanted to be a knight just like him.

Emiya remembered her and massaged his head at the huge incoming headache. Ingrid Galatea, full name Ingrid Brandl Galatea. He met her when Dimitri’s playmates arrived at the castle to spend his time while Lambert and his retinue went to Garreg Mach Monastery. She was Glenn’s fiancé ever since she was born. However, from how close they were and the happy faces that they showed each other, both in public and privately, they were truly in love with each other. Emiya slightly frowned at the age gap, but apparently, it was normal in Fodlan. He had once asked Lambert about it, only to receive a confused look. Lambert immediately made a face, as if remembering that Emiya didn’t exactly have a normal past, and told him it was normal. Emiya had to let it go in the end. It was a new world, and he wasn’t the native in this situation. But no, it wasn’t the age gap that gave him this headache.

It was the fact that Ingrid looked and acted so similarly to Saber, to Arturia. From their blonde hair, their green eyes, their knightly demeanor… Hell, Ingrid’s appetite was larger than someone their age. If she continued to grow, which she definitely would, her appetite would follow, and she’d devour the entire castle’s food pantry in a night. And it wasn’t like she’d grow fat either; if she followed her dreams to be a knight, the constant training would burn those calories right out.

It surprised him so much the first time he met her that when he froze, Glenn aggressively nudged him with a glare. From then on, Glenn looked at him suspiciously if Ingrid and Emiya were in the same room. Of course, he did his best to never let that happen, so those instances were very rare.

Dimitri’s other playmates included: Felix Fraldarius, Sylvain Gautier, and Annette Dominic.

Felix was Glenn’s brother. Wide-eyed and innocent, he followed Glenn like a puppy.

Sylvain Gautier was the next heir of House Gautier. He showed hints of being a skirt-chaser. It honestly annoyed Emiya, seeing the similarities to a certain Matou slimeball. It didn’t help that Sylvain and Emiya shared red hair. His only solace was that while Sylvain was shallow, nothing similar happened to Sakura. Though frankly, Emiya felt that would never happen. Something was off about Sylvain, that he did flirt with women, but kept them at a certain distance. It was as if he hated women. He’d ask Glenn more about that when they met again.

Annette Dominic was a new addition, only coming because she was Gustave’s daughter. Emiya once talked to him when Gustave came to him to thank him for saving Lambert, Emiya waved it away, saying it was nothing. Gustave pushed more, saying that he wouldn’t have known what to do if Lambert died and Gustave wasn’t there to die with him, most likely had a self-imposed exile. Of course, Emiya froze at that. He had known Gustave was married, but to abandon the people close to him because he failed his duty? At the very least, Emiya was happy he contained himself from yelling at him. Gustave’s thanks went from one ear and exited through the other. When Gustave left, Emiya immediately talked to Lambert about it. Lambert saw the problem too. In a move that surprised everyone but Emiya and Patricia, he had Gustave’s wife and daughter board in the castle.

His reasoning? Gustave’s duty now included spending time with his family. Of course, Gustave tried to argue, that his duty was to the king, but Lambert ordered it. As his king’s words were law, all Gustave could do was to bow and accept. At the very least, Gustave seemed to be a bit less tense with his family in the castle. It wasn’t like they owned land either, so there were no administrative problems with the transfer.

Annette was the sunshine in the castle. While she was clumsy and almost constantly tripped, everyone loved her earnestness. The fact that she would sometimes sing, and hum, randomly only added to her charm. She got along great with Felix, who would immediately feel better at her voice. Sylvain tried to tease the two of them, but Annette began chucking books at him. Gustave merely glared at him from a distance. Rodrigue merely laughed, saying that the castle has gotten rowdier.

Dimitri, on the other hand, was traumatized. He stayed clear of fire and sharp sounds. Considering that was the month of Lone Moon in Fhirdiad, it was decently cold. He had to be bundled up, more so than anyone else since fire couldn’t be started near him. Glenn stuck to him and made sure to wear leather rather than the standard steel armor, just to stop the sounds of armor from hitting itself. Healers were on stand-by should Dimitri suffer a breakdown, or when he woke up screaming at night. They would cast Silence to help dampen the sounds around him.

Emiya grimaced. He knew exactly what he was going through. He had blurry memories of Kiritsugu giving him medicine that was created through Magecraft to help him through the nightmares. Honestly, Emiya wanted to help, but he knew this was a process that takes time and dedication.

On the other hand, something was troubling right next to him. Emiya glanced at Lambert and Patricia, who were quiet throughout the ride. Their relationship strained after Patricia revealed her betrayal. To Emiya, it felt like both wanted to do something about it but couldn’t act on it. It baffled him how no one else figured out something was wrong, but then again, Lambert and Patricia faked it so perfectly when someone was nearby.

Emiya had no experience with love, and so, he couldn’t say anything about it.

As for the medallion, Lambert had his men destroy every single one that was in Cornelia’s castle. As of now, there were no more active medallions from Cornelia’s castle. Emiya made sure, as he memorized the feeling he got when he smelled the medallion: his head felt like it was swimming in mud, but he knew he wasn’t. As he sniffed the entirety of Cornelia’s castle, he made sure to destroy each one until none was left.

As for that robot in the bottom dungeon…

It was currently being protected in the middle of the army, behind the carriage Emiya was currently in. They brought every single piece with them. The Artificial Crest Stone that Gae Bolg broke was currently with Lambert, as apparently humans without a Crest were in danger of becoming a Demonic Beast, which was the monster of Fodlan. When Emiya met Rodrigue, he did a quick Structural Analysis on his sword, and it showed Rodrigue’s most recent battles with them. With that, it gave him an idea of what he’ll be facing in the future, should it happen. He saw how the sword was used, when it was used, and where it struck the beast.

If anyone asked him what kind of monsters he used to hunt down, he’d be able to describe these Demonic Beasts and Lambert would back him up.

A knock on the carriage came from Lambert’s side and it brought Emiya out of his thoughts. Lambert opened the window on his side,

“Hello, Your Majesty! We’re very close to the Monastery now. Once we turn the curve, we should be able to see it and then arrive within the hour.” Alois spoke.

“Thank you, Alois.” Lambert smiled at Alois and began small talk with him.

Alois was the messenger the Archbishop sent with the letter. To Emiya, Alois was an easy-going fellow and was someone that anyone could be friendly to. It amazed Emiya that even he was being friendly to Alois in the beginning. The only one who wasn’t was Hapi, who hid behind Patricia when he was nearby. As of right now, she was making a point of looking outside, the opposite side of where Alois was talking to Lambert.

‘ _Probably since Alois feels way too nice to her. I’m guessing that was how Cornelia got her in the beginning, befriending her then to experiment on her._ ’

“Hey, you can see the Monastery now!” Alois’s voice rang out

Emiya and Hapi both opened the window on their side, if to just break the monotony of trees they’ve been watching since they left Fhirdiad.

The Castle of Fhirdiad was big, that much Emiya could say. However, it felt like the Monastery dwarfed that. It didn’t even feel like a monastery. Weren’t they supposed to be filled with monks and nuns? Though, since this was a new world, common sense would be different.

Garreg Mach Monastery looked more like a fortified castle than a monastery. Fog slightly covered the spires, though Emiya could still see it. The walls reached high peaks, almost impossible for normal ladders to reach. Watchtowers watched every corner of the Monastery grounds.

However, when Emiya Reinforced his sights, he saw a woman standing over a veranda high above everything else. Emiya felt it.

This woman was unquestionably Lady Rhea, the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:
> 
> I really screwed up Glenn’s canon personality. Felix’s canon personality was more like Glenn’s than my current ‘nice guy.’ However, I will live with what I’ve done and move on. And to be honest, I’m not sure how an ideal knight could have Felix’s personality. This felt better.
> 
> As of right now, Emiya has not seen any Heroes’ Relics. Areadbhar has been hidden, only to be used in times of war. Right now, there is no war, so no use in using it. That’s my head canon anyway. So, if a Heroes’ Relics appear in the Church, that’s when Shirou will react.
> 
> Note that with the Tragedy of Duscur averted, Catherine is still Cassandra. This is because she ran away when she was implicated to be part of those who assassinated Lambert in canon. She ran away, only to be saved by Rhea. She abandoned her name Cassandra, adopted Catherine, and become devout to Rhea. However, it is noted in the Thunderbrand wiki page that Catherine has had the Thunderbrand since she was Cassandra.
> 
> Since Cassandra isn’t Catherine, then Alois was chosen to be the guide back to the Monastery. One thing I noted was that Alois has served the Monastery for a long time. Officially knighted at age 24, Imperial Year 1159. Since the current year is 1176, that means he’s been serving the Monastery for 18 years. During this time, he found a wife and had children.
> 
> Jeralt also left that same year, when Byleth was born, specifically the 20th of Horsebow Moon (September), Imperial Year 1159, based on the wiki. I’ll use it in the future as well.
> 
> Since the Fodlan calendar is weird, April is the beginning of the year, and March is the end.
> 
> Yes, someone noted that Tracing spears is technically hard for Emiya. He can still do it, but it’s harder than just swords. My way of showing it is through Emiya beginning his transformation a la Oath Under Snow or HF Shirou. However, this is only in appearance.
> 
> I’m also trying to find a way to insert a puberty joke in the chapter, but the chance kind of disappeared, so I’m saving it for later. Maybe in a more light-hearted chapter? That was my plan for making Emiya notice girls more, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I understand that the mental age gap is huge; Emiya is an adult in a child’s body. It’d be weird to have him go for a girl already. I want to wait for a few more years until everyone is older. There’s also the fact that he’s in a fourteen-year-old body.
> 
> I’ve also noted this weirdness in the section about Ingrid and Glenn.
> 
> One last note, how do you guys feel about my characterization of the added characters? I’ve broken canon with the prevention of the Tragedy of Duscur. It felt only right to start the butterfly effects. Felix is still his cry-baby self, Annette is bonding with her father, Gustave is forced to be a better father, and Felix doesn’t hate his father either.
> 
> 2021/02/07 Edit:
> 
> EMIYA -> Emiya
> 
> Various grammar and spelling changes.
> 
> Added some words to make things flow better.
> 
> Some formatting changes.
> 
> Changed some stuff for Seteth, making it clear that his ‘flashback’ was not during Zanado, but the first war against Agartha, which caused Sothis to rest.
> 
> Added a little blurb about how Emiya and Shirou never realized Sakura’s problems, both in the former’s original timeline and the latter’s UBW route.
> 
> Took out a chunk of the part about Lambert and Patricia. Someone commented that it was an omniscient 3rd-person POV, when it should only be Emiya’s POV. I’ve edited it, removing the parts that made it omniscient, thus making it shorter.
> 
> 2021/02/19 Edit:
> 
> As someone pointed out, it’s supposed to be Majesty for both kings and emperors. I made this error because I thought Dimitri was called “Highness” in canon, even past the timeskip. However, this is wrong because Dimitri became king after the final map and Dedue calls him “Majesty”.


	6. Monastery Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emiya arrives in the Monastery

“Welcome to Garreg Mach Monastery!” Alois exclaimed. “Or, well, the Marketplace that leads to the Monastery.”

‘ _Big._ ’ That was what Emiya thought as his head kept going higher and higher just to see the spires of the Monastery. He’s seen some things in his time as a Counter Guardian, and this could be in the top twenty of the largest buildings he’s seen. It wasn’t that the Monastery was just a monastery nor a fortified castle; it was an entire town. Emiya looked back at the people as they milled about in the marketplace as people bartered with each other. Some skipped the bartering and paid with gold coins.

‘ _Gold coins? Was gold so abundant that regular people could use them for the market? Was copper never found? Silver has definitely been found; it’s being used for weapons. The market rate must be ridiculous._ ’

Emiya glanced to his left at Hapi, who was still in awe at the size of the buildings. Her mouth was agape as she stared at the sky.

“You should close your mouth; insects could get in,” Emiya smirked at Hapi. She slightly blushed as she shut her mouth and elbowed him.

“Remember Anna, Lambert? She’s still here, providing high-quality goods for a slight rate-up!” He laughed as he waved towards a girl with a ponytail of red hair.

“They’re fair prices, Captain!” Anna yelled back, though she laughed right after. Alois laughed along with her.

“She’s still here? It’s been years.” Lambert shook as he reminisced back to his Monastery days.

“Or it’s her sister; they all look so similar.” Alois sighed.

“Sister!” Anna confirmed before she turned to a potential customer.

The group continued past the Marketplace. Emiya noted that there was a pond and what seemed to be a greenhouse on their left as they approached the entrance to the Monastery.

“Greetings, Captain Alois. I received word that Lady Rhea is waiting for you in her Audience Chambers.” A gatekeeper saluted as Alois approached him.

“Thank you. Anything to report?” Alois asked.

“Outside of more students arriving for the new school year, nothing.”

Alois nodded and the group continued as the entrance doors opened for them.

“Students, sir?” Emiya asked.

“Hmm? Oh yes, I suppose you wouldn’t know, or perhaps remember.” Alois grumbled. “Regardless, you’re here now. On top of being a Monastery and the center of the Church of Seiros, it’s also the Officer’s Academy. Royalty and nobility send their heirs here so that they’re trained in the art of warfare. That way, they learn how to protect Fodlan from foreign invaders. Last year, Dagda and Brigid attacked the Adrestian Empire. Brigid was forced to be a vassal of the Empire when they lost. We also got a new knight, Shamir Nevrand, because of that too.”

He stroked his beard. “She’s so pale and silent, she’s like a ghost; I never know where she comes from,” Alois shivered. “Then again, she’s certainly got spirit!”

‘ _That was terrible._ ’

Lambert and Patricia sighed at Alois while Emiya and Hapi wore faces of indifference. Alois ignored their reactions.

The group continued through the Monastery. Various staff members and students waved and greeted Alois as they passed by.

Finally, after a few twists and turns through the Monastery, the group stood in front of large doors. Alois nodded at the guards posted as they opened the doors.

Emiya shivered. Something felt wrong in the atmosphere, like something oppressive hung in the air. He smelled something with fire, as if someone were actively using Fire magic like a flamethrower nearby.

Emiya froze as his eyes caught sight of the three beings that stood at the other end of the Audience Chamber. His body went on high alert as both of his hands hung loose on his sides and his fingers grasped at things that weren’t there. His eyes kept his eyes on the other end of the Audience Chamber as he followed the rest of the group to the middle of the chamber.

“Good afternoon, Lady Rhea, Sir Seteth! Good afternoon to you too, Flayn!” He saluted at the first two and waved at the third.

The first was a woman, Rhea. If she could be described in one word, it would be ethereal. Her green hair reached her chest, going past and rested in front of her shoulders, not behind her. The way she held herself made Emiya feel like she was divine. Her face held a small, kind smile, and while the others relaxed at the sight of it, Emiya felt that it wasn’t all kindness underneath. Her eyes with light green and seemed to stare deeper into him if he looked at them too long. She wore a complex and embroidered headpiece, and a tiara kept her hair from falling to the front of her face. Her robes reached the ground, patterned with fancy gold and navy-blue designs. All the power he felt when he entered the room centered around her for some reason.

The second was a man, Seteth. His entire air breathed stern and seriousness. His hair was short, parting at his forehead to his sides, and then slightly flared outwards. He also sported a goatee. Underneath his hair was a tiara or some sort of golden band on his forehead. His face seemed to be set in a constant frown. Guessing his position, he had to be the right-hand man of Rhea, or perhaps close to it; he had the eyebags to show for it. His clothing was mainly dark-navy blue, completed with a cape and black boots. His were also less embroidered than Rhea’s robes.

The last one was a child, who Alois called Flayn. Her head sported two large, puffy, coiled hair. Each coil had a golden hair clip. While Flayn also sported a smile like Rhea, hers exuded childishness, naivete. Compared to the first two, Flayn’s clothing reminded Emiya of the student uniforms in the Officers Academy. Still, it seemed like there was a lot of leniency in terms of how the students could personalize their uniforms here. Flayn’s seemed more like a black dress with navy-blue and gold accents. She also wore the same black boots that Seteth wore.

The last two honestly felt more human than Rhea, though the smell was still on them. Did they somehow lose their draconic selves? Then how did Rhea keep that much power in her?

‘ _I shouldn’t be so surprised. Of course, dragons would be at the top of the food chain here._ ’

He’d faced some dragons in his time as a Counter Guardian too since some would get lost and end up leaving the Reverse Side of the World. He was confident that he could take care of a single dragon, but that was just the regular, mindless one. These dragons reeked of this world’s magic. He could certainly project Noble Phantasms that had the Anti-Dragon trait on them, like Siegfried’s Balmung or Sigurd’s Gram, but he’d have to get close to kill them.

If it was just one of the dragons, then he’d surely win. Two would be pushing it, but doable without Unlimited Blade Works. Three would require Unlimited Blade Works if they all worked together; he’d have to distract the others while he slew the last one.

On top of that, his current body wouldn’t last as long as his Counter Guardian body. He’d most likely run out of energy before completely slaying all three at once.

However, Emiya reigned himself, this is not something he should think about right now. Right now, he had to focus on the bigger enemy: the assassins. These three might have information on them. Also, he shouldn’t needlessly kill them if they didn’t bring any trouble.

“Good afternoon to you too, Alois,” Rhea greeted back. She looked at Lambert and Patricia. “And hello Lambert, Anselma. It has been quite some time since you visited. I was relieved that you both survived the ordeal. I trust that Dimitri is safe as well?”

Lambert and Patricia bowed towards Rhea. Emiya and Hapi followed suit.

“Thank you for your kind words, Lady Rhea. And indeed, Dimitri is safe within Fhirdiad. With Rodrigue and Gustave by his side, he is surrounded by the best knights that Faerghus could offer. I have also tasked Glenn with becoming his Shield, like how Rodrigue is to me. I have full confidence that they can protect him until we return.” Lambert answered.

Rhea nodded and looked at Emiya and Hapi. “And I believe that these two are the children mentioned in your letter?”

“Indeed. The girl is Hapi, no surname. She was held by Cornelia, the previous Fhirdiad Court Mage, and was experimented on. Based on what Hapi told us, the power of her Crest has been modified to summon Demonic Beasts, but only when she sighed.” Patricia answered this time.

Rhea and Seteth each had an eyebrow rise in confusion, but they did not voice it.

“Very well. And the boy?” Rhea moved on.

“The boy is Agilulf Emiya,” Lambert responded. “He escaped from the assassins on the day of the attempt. He also aided us in the Siege of Cornelia’s Castle by tracking her down, eventually leading him to where she kept Hapi. He also displays…interesting magic, the likes that Patricia nor I ever saw before.”

“You mentioned his name is Agilulf Emiya? Did you give that to him?” Seteth narrowed his eyes.

Lambert nodded. “I named him Agilulf in thanks for saving us, but Emiya came from him. He has amnesia, though he felt some sort of connection to Emiya.”

Seteth sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his right thumb and index finger. “Who else knows?”

Lambert was confused. “Just my closest aides and Dimitri. Why?”

Seteth looked straight at Lambert. “Agilulf connects him to the Faerghus royal family. It implies that you adopted him, in a way. Do you know the political mess that would have occurred if the other nobles heard? That you adopted an unknown child?”

“Oh…” Realization dawned at Lambert and he began to rub the back of his head. “I just wanted to thank him…”

“Indeed, you did, and that’s fine,” Seteth agreed. “However, there was no need to give him a name, especially one that was so close to the roots of the Faerghus royal name.”

Lambert had no response to that.

Rhea frowned. “You’ve grown much since your days as a student here at the Academy. However, your headstrong tendencies to push forward and not look at the implications rears its ugly head once in a while.” She looked at Emiya. “I’m sorry to say, but you must abandon the name Agilulf.”

“That is alright, Your Ladyship. I can see the reasoning behind it.” Emiya nodded. In all honesty, Agilulf was too new of a name and Emiya wasn’t too attached to it. “All that I ask is that I keep Emiya. It is something that I feel connected to.”

Rhea smiled. “Of course. You’ve lost your memories, correct? Is that the only thing you remember?”

“Yes. I do not remember where I was born, nor when. As of right now, it’s been decided that I’m 14-years old due to how similar I look to the prince, Dimitri.” Emiya answered.

“Then keep that name and whatever you can remember. It must be terrible to forget who you were once.” Rhea looked at Lambert. “Have you tried to search for anything related to that name?”

“Yes, but nothing has appeared. All we know is that the name doesn’t follow the Faerghus naming convention. We have also tried to check with the old naming conventions from the Adrestian Empire and the Leicester Alliance that we noted in our archives, but still nothing.”

Seteth frowned at that. “Perhaps a foreign name?”

“We have also tried that, but it does not match those from Duscur, Sreng, Dagda, Brigid, nor Almyra. For all we know, it could be a new country we have never seen before,” Lambert answered.

Rhea nodded. “So long as the boy does not wish to fight, we have no qualms about him staying. And what about you, Hapi? Do you remember where you were from?” Rhea looked at Hapi.

“I… I don’t want to return. After what Cornelia did to me, they would be in danger because of me.”

“Very well, we can talk more about where you two will stay after today. Both of you have been experimented on by the enemy and show unknown magic. It would be foolish to not keep an eye on both of you.” Seteth said and Rhea nodded.

Emiya slightly frowned at that. If they were holed up here, Emiya would never be able to find more about those assassins. On top of that, it’s one prison for another for Hapi. He had to say something now before they were forced to stay without any gain.

“Then, can we make a deal?” Emiya asked out loud and all eyes shifted to him.

“A deal? What can you offer?” Seteth asked incredulously. “You’re a child. I do not see- “

Rhea held her hand up to interrupt Seteth. Seteth gaped at her as she nodded at Emiya to continue.

“I’ve been trained to track monsters and kill them if need be. King Lambert can attest to that.”

Rhea and Seteth glanced at Lambert. He nodded. “It’s true. He tracked Cornelia through her castle and cornered her in a dungeon chamber, where we found Hapi. It was also where he destroyed the metallic monster. We brought its remains here, along with its Crest Stone.” Lambert reached within his coat and presented a small box. He opened it, revealing the broken Crest Stone.

Rhea’s eyes widened and Emiya felt the air become heavier than before. No one seemed to notice except for Seteth and Flayn.

Rhea approached Lambert and reached for the Crest Stone. She took one of the pieces and held it in her hand. “H-How…? This seems to be made, not something that was taken from a Heroes’ Relic. I’ve never seen this before. This was created, artificial. That shouldn’t be possible. Thank you for bringing this with you, Lambert. There should be no need for this to be said but let me be clear: none of this leaves this room. Unless I deem otherwise, these secrets must be taken to your graves.”

She placed the piece back in the box and closed it. When Lambert held it out, she took it and gave it to Seteth, which he hid in a pocket in his pants.

Rhea looked at Alois, who stood at the side of the Audience Chamber. “Can you please go and take a piece of the remains, Alois? A small piece will do. I would like to examine those as well.”

“Of course, Lady Rhea. If I may take my leave.” Rhea nodded as Alois bowed. He left the room right after.

Rhea looked at Emiya, motioning for him to continue.

“For defeating these Demonic Beasts, I relied on my magic: creating weaponry.” He held out his and Projected a Silver Sword that he saw in Fhirdiad. “I do not know what they did to me, but creating these weapons are almost instinctive.”

Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn seemed alarmed.

“Have you ever tried copying a Heroes’ Relic?” Seteth asked slowly.

Emiya shook his head. “No, sir. I’ve never seen one. I’d have to see the weapon before I could try to create it.”

“I see…” Seteth mumbled as he stroked his goatee.

Rhea looked at Lambert. “You didn’t try?”

“No, because Agil- Emiya already seemed to have one.” Lambert glanced at Emiya. “Please summon the weapon you used to destroy that monster.”

Emiya paused. Should he reveal it, here and now? It would mean more people would know about it. No, perhaps if he showed it, he could convince them that he’d be useful.

“Trace, On,” he muttered. His hands grasped at Gae Bolg’s handle.

The air became heavy to breathe for everyone. Lambert, Patricia, and Hapi have already seen it once, but since they were so close now, they felt the bloodlust the spear exuded. They began to breathe heavily as they started to sweat. They felt their hairs raise in fright.

Emiya immediately dismissed the Trace and the air returned to what it once was.

“I-I don’t remember that happening,” Patricia stammered out.

Emiya nodded. “Of course. No one was this close when I summoned it before.”

Emiya took a glance at the three members of the Church for their reactions. Rhea’s eyes, unbeknownst to everyone, had turned to slits. However, before anyone noticed, she blinked, and her eyes returned to normal. Seteth’s eyes didn’t have the same reaction. His reactions were similar to Lambert in that he panted and sweated. His hands were held out to his side as Flayn hid behind him, as if Seteth was protecting her. Flayn had her eyes closed as she trembled, clenching her fist at Seteth’s cape.

“What was that?! I’ve never seen a weapon like that before!” Seteth exclaimed angrily, snarling at Emiya.

“It is a spear made to kill. Once it has pierced a living being’s body, it will produce iron thorns that will travel across the body and find the heart. Once the heart is found, those thorns will destroy the body from the inside. In the testing that has been done, no one has been able to wield it except me.” He answered, hoping that would be enough. He didn’t mention the fact that the wounds cannot be healed so long as it remained in the world. That might be too much for them right now if he ever revealed it. He planned to never do so.

The room was silent. Everyone seemed like they were still reeling at the prospects of such a weapon.

Rhea watched Emiya in deep thought. “You said that others can’t wield it… How do you mean?” Rhea asked slowly.

“Anyone can wield the spear if the aura didn’t freeze or scare them. However, if someone is pierced when someone else used the weapon, the thorns wouldn’t appear. It only appears if this weapon is used by my hands.” Emiya responded. So long as no one can activate it with its True Name, Gae Bolg would only be a regular spear with a curse that prevented healing. He didn’t mention the fact that he could just dismiss the weapon if it fell to someone else’s hands.

“So, it’s not a Heroes’ Relic…” Seteth mumbled as his shoulders relaxed for a bit, along with Rhea’s. With the spear gone, Flayn had also relaxed, though she still hid behind Seteth.

“How does a Heroes’ Relic function?” Emiya asked.

“Anyone can use a Heroes’ Relic as well. However, its weight is far too great, so a Crest Stone is placed upon the Relic. Only someone with the correct Crest can use that specific Relic properly.” Seteth answered.

“I’ve theorized that it may be my magic that is causing this ‘rule’ of sorts, allowing only me to use the weapon,” Emiya added. ‘ _And with that, my magic will seem like it only works for me, and only me._ ’

Seteth agreed. “Indeed, that’s a possibility. It is unknown magic, and its rules are currently unknown to us.”

A knock sounded outside the door to the Chamber. “Lady Rhea, I’ve retrieved it.” The door opened and he entered. He closed the door and approached Rhea, holding out a box.

Rhea took a box and looked within. Just like with the Crest Stone piece, she took it and held it up to examine.

“Advanced technology…” Rhea’s eyes widened. Her face twitched as it transformed into anger. “It’s them.” She hissed as her hands began to crumple the metal.

“It can’t be…” Seteth’s face paled and Flayn trembled. She clutched Seteth’s cape again, strong enough to turn her knuckles white.

Everyone bar Emiya was confused and surprised. Surprised that the serene and calm Lady Rhea had the hand strength to crush a piece of metal. Confused about who ‘them’ was.

However…

‘ _So, these guys do know who the assassins were._ ’

Emiya pushed forward and took the initiative. “Them? Do you know who the assassins are?”

Seteth’s surprised face spun to meet Emiya’s. He immediately schooled his face into a frown. “No, though this is nothing that concerns you.” He tried to deflect.

“Like it doesn’t. These assassins just tried to kill the Royal Family of Faerghus. They’ve got a vendetta on them. I was used until I finally escaped. I want to get back at them, to get rid of them.” Emiya pushed. Certainly, he understood that there was no way he would be able to stop everything nor would he be able to save everyone. But he won’t stop trying. He needed to know who these enemies are and get as much information that he can.

Seteth looked back to Rhea, hoping that she would back him up. However, she was in deep thought. After moments of silence, she looked at Emiya.

“You said you had a deal before, correct?”

‘ _And for the coup de grace._ ’

“Yes, I mentioned I was trained to hunt and kill monsters. Give me information on whoever these guys are, I will find them, and they will die.” Emiya glared at Rhea, hoping that even with his childish body, she would be convinced he could be an asset.

Fundamentally, he understood what he’s doing. He’s making himself to be another janitor. But, if it meant that he could save people, stop these enemies that abused, experimented, and took advantage of people, then he’d do it. After all, he learned again that the dream, to become a Hero of Justice, is a beautiful thing.

~~~

‘ _His eyes… it’s just mine back then…_ ’

Rhea was absorbed by the boy’s eyes. She couldn’t believe that she was seeing the eyes of someone that saw destruction and pain on a child. She lived through hell, avenged her brethren, and continued to live, trying to get back what she lost. It was natural that she’d have those eyes.

However, on a child? What had he seen in his time as a prisoner?

“Rhea!” Seteth shouted, bringing her out her thoughts. “Please convince him he will not do anything.”

She glanced at Seteth and looked back at Emiya. She took a deep breath.

“You mentioned a deal.” She began with a stern face. Seteth opened his mouth, but she held her hand to stop him. “In exchange for hunting them down, what do you need?”

The boy took a deep breath.

“A few things. You mentioned that you wanted to keep an eye on us, right? As long as Hapi and I stay here, where you can keep an eye on us, I want you to promise we’ll be free. We do not want to be prisoners here; otherwise, we’re trading one prison for another.” Emiya answered.

“And what about Hapi? She would bring in danger to those around.” Hapi squirmed at Seteth’s words.

“You’re not heartless; you’d try to find a cure for what happened to her. After all, it was your enemies that did this to her. You owe her that much.” Emiya retorted.

‘ _So, a cure and autonomy within the Monastery grounds? I can grant the autonomy. He is also right about the cure; they were experimented with by the Agarthans, so it’s only right that we cure her._ ’

“Very well, I shall grant those to you two. As long as you stay here, you won’t be official students. You can wander the grounds, but you must bring guards along with you. I will assign it to both of you. Emiya, you mentioned that you were trained to kill Demonic Beasts, yes? Then I will assign you to guard Hapi. In the event that she unknowingly summons a Demonic Beast, you are to slay it immediately.” Rhea turned to Alois. “Please find Shamir and bring her here.”

Alois bowed and left the room.

Rhea turned to Hapi and Emiya. “Shamir Nevrand is a new knight of the Church and has pledged her loyalty to me. Do not doubt her skills; she has taken part in some of the expeditions to kill Demonic Beasts.” Emiya and Hapi nodded.

“Lady Rhea, if I may be so bold, I would like to ask for your assistance and guidance.” Patricia suddenly began.

“We will do what we can. What do you require assistance in?” Rhea asked.

“Two years ago, I heard the news that my daughter, Edelgard von Hresvelg, was captured by this same enemy. I would like to ask for help in finding and rescuing her,” Patricia pleaded.

“How do you know this? It seems sloppy that such information would ever reach anyone’s ear.” Seteth asked as he narrowed his eyes at Patricia.

“I… I heard it from Cornelia. She delivered me the news. She took advantage of my trust in her and used me. She-She said that it was Lambert that took her away! She revealed that my brother, Volkhard, was in Fhirdiad with Edelgard since 1171. She said that Lambert knew about it and resolved to make sure we never met.” Rhea’s eyes widened at her words, but she let Patricia continue. “In my desperation, I believed her. And so, for the past two years, I hated Lambert and fell to Cornelia’s clutches. On the night of the assassination attempt, I gave her information about Lambert’s expedition, and in exchange, she promised me passage back to Edelgard.” Patricia’s breath hitched and Lambert rubbed her back.

“And it was all a lie! They tried to murder me that night too! A few days later, I realized the truth: Cornelia was just using me, lying to me to get what she wanted. Lambert didn’t even know that Edelgard was in F-Fhirdiad.” As Patricia ended, she began to sob uncontrollably. She knelt as her hands clutched her face.

“Indeed. Volkhard did bring a girl with him. He introduced her as his daughter, El. I… I never made the connection.” Lambert continued. “Suddenly, in 1174, Volkhard left to go back to the Empire just as the Insurrection finished. He brought El with him.”

“1174…?” Seteth began to stroke his chin.

“So, you sided with the enemy and aided an assassination attempt. That would be treason.” Rhea coldly exclaimed, glaring at Patricia. “How do you defend yourself from that?”

Patricia looked up at her and matched her glare. “Because she is my daughter! I’d do anything to keep her safe!”

Seteth froze at those words. Flayn clutched Seteth’s cape. Rhea reeled from those words.

‘ _It seems that it’s not only the daughter that would do anything for their mother. I wonder, is this how you felt, Mother?_

‘ _Is this how you felt, Sitri?_ ’

“I… I understand.” Rhea said, her anger lost. “Still, this changes nothing. How sure are you that Edelgard has been captured? It could have just been a ploy to lower your guard.” She asked Patricia.

“I am not sure. However, all of Ionius’s children have disappeared and no news has been found about them. Even if the enemy hasn’t captured them, having no news about them doesn’t feel right.” Patricia responded.

“Volkhard… 1174…” Seteth stroked his chin again, deep in thought. “Lambert, you said that Volkhard left Fhirdiad on 1174, correct? Are you certain?”

Lambert nodded at Seteth. “Indeed. His departure was a sudden one. He just said good-bye and left with Edelgard in tow.”

“Do you have something in mind, Seteth?” Rhea asked. Seteth seemed so caught on by Volkhard and that year.

“I may have something… If I may take my leave, I need to check on a report. Flayn, stay with Lady Rhea.” Seteth bowed and left.

Rhea turned to Lambert. “Was there anything else that you found?”

“We found that Cornelia had been using a medallion to control and influence the men of her castle. It was also through this medallion that she influenced Patricia. We destroyed all medallions.” Lambert answered. Patricia trembled at his last sentence.

Rhea felt pity for Patricia. On top of finding out her daughter was caught by the enemy, she was also influenced by something that wasn’t in her control.

“Patricia, none of this was your fault. You have my condolences.” Rhea told Patricia.

“Thank you,” Patricia mumbled as she sniffed, having finally stopped her sobs.

The door opened and Seteth entered the Audience Chambers with a small stack of paper in his left hand.

“Lady Rhea, I found some reports about 1174. This was the same year that Volkhard stopped his yearly donations to the Church. It coincides with the same year he left Faerghus. It also coincides with the disappearances of Ionius’s children. There’s also how the Insurrection of the Seven ended in the same year.” Seteth gave Rhea the papers as he approached the front of the chamber.

The stack included official reports about House Arundel’s Church donations and reports from spies that were in the Empire. The official reports indicated that Arundel donated every year consistently until 1174. The spies noted that the children haven’t been publicly seen for a very long time while the reports on the Insurrection mentioned the transfer of power between Emperor Ionius IX to Ludwig von Aegir.

“There are too many events for this to be called coincidences. Seteth, bring me all the reports about the Insurrection, from its beginnings, branching results, and its ultimate end in Adrestia,” Rhea commanded Seteth as a knock rang out from the door.

“Lady Rhea, I have brought Shamir with me!” Alois’s voice announced.

“Enter!” Rhea said.

Alois opened the door and entered the room. Behind him, a woman followed. She had short, dark blue hair, almost nearing black. The hair parted, though a majority parted towards her left. She had a pauldron on her left shoulder and wore a blue-green jacket and boots. She also wore black clothing underneath, and a choker completed her outfit.

“Shamir, reporting. You called for me, Lady Rhea?” Shamir stood at attention.

“I’m terribly sorry for the delay.” Alois bowed. “It was hard to find her.”

Shamir sighed. “And like I told you, you just didn’t notice me.”

Seteth sighed. “Enough, both of you. You stand in front of not only Lady Rhea, but also King Lambert of Faerghus. Lady Rhea, if I may take my leave.”

The two caught themselves and stayed silent as Seteth left.

Rhea looked at Shamir. “Shamir, I have a new assignment for you.” Shamir nodded. “The boy and girl are Emiya and Hapi. They will stay here in the Monastery for an indefinite amount of time. During their stay, you will be with them. Hapi has a certain…quirk that requires killing Demonic Beasts.”

Shamir rose an eyebrow at that but didn’t say anything.

“Her Crest has been modified to summon Demonic Beasts when she sighs. In the event that she sighs, you are to kill the Demonic Beasts that are summoned. Use what you need.”

Shamir bowed. “Thank you, Lady Rhea. And what about the boy, Emiya?” She glanced at him before looking back at Rhea.

“He has been trained to hunt and kill Demonic Beasts. His magic is new but will be a boon to your duty. While you are to look out for both, he will aid you in killing these Demonic Beasts.”

“Understood.”

“And I’m guessing I’m crowd control, to make sure that no one stays in the vicinity, Lady Rhea?” Alois pointed to himself.

“Indeed, use the knights as needed.”

The door opened and once again, Seteth entered the room. “I have all the reports about the Insurrection of the Seven.” On his hand was another stack of reports.

‘ _It would be terrible if the royalty heard the inner workings of another country. At the very least, Lambert shouldn’t be here._ ’

“Alois, if you could escort Lambert to one of the guest rooms, please? This is a matter of another country. We cannot allow one country to know the inner workings of another.” Rhea commanded Alois. Alois and Lambert nodded and left the room.

He stood at the front of the chamber and began reading what he found.

“The Insurrection was a response to Ionius’s attempt to consolidate the power within the empire to himself. While it has been going on for years, the first public resistance came from House Hrym in 1167. They attempted to defect to the Leicester Alliance.”

He flipped a page.

“It seems that they had help from the Alliance’s House Ordelia. However, the Imperial Army arrived and stopped that rebellion. The major bloodline of House Hrym was eradicated, and an adoptee was named heir. As for House Ordelia, the Empire replaced its family members with Imperial officials. As a result, House Ordelia has been of terrible standing within the Alliance.”

Another page was flipped.

“Currently, House Aegir controls the land House Hrym once owned.” Shamir frowned at that, which Rhea noticed.

“Anything to say, Shamir?” Rhea interrupted Shamir and all eyes turned towards her.

“Yes. When I was in the Empire a few months back, I ended up in that area. Officially, House Aegir does control the land, but Volkhard von Arundel was there to control the people.” Shamir stated and Patricia paled.

“What? He was there? But why…?” Patricia asked incredulously.

Shamir shook her head. “I didn’t find out. However, from what I saw, the people were unhappy. Lord Arundel imposed heavy taxes. Before I left, I saw people packing their belongings and leaving. As for where, they were going in the direction of the Alliance, so most likely, towards House Ordelia.”

“Heavy taxes? That doesn’t sound like Volkhard. He was a kind brother and he made sure that the people under House Arundel were treated and taxed fairly.” Patricia exclaimed.

“Then, what about replacing people?” Emiya asked with a frown.

“How do you mean?” Rhea asked, motioning for him to continue.

“We’ve seen what the enemy can do with the medallion. However, from what I saw in Cornelia’s castle, they moved with limited capacity. Ruling an area needs a bit of autonomy and freedom to command its people. So, instead of just brainwashing through the medallion, how possible is it that they replaced the person, this Arundel person?” Emiya finished.

Seteth’s eyes widened. “That’s absurd! Such magic has never been- “

Emiya held his hand in front of him and electricity formed to create a sword. Shamir’s eyes bulged at what she just saw.

‘ _So, even Shamir can be surprised._ ’

“And yet, my magic exists, and I can do the impossible. From what I’ve seen, these guys defy common sense.” The sword disappeared. “On top of that, from what I read in Fhirdiad’s Royal Library, Cornelia was a good woman before. Experimentation doesn’t seem to be something she would have done. To me, this points to a theory that Cornelia was used as a test run, and Arundel was next.”

Rhea frowned in thought.

‘ _He’s right. It has been centuries since I last fought them. And even back then, their technology far outpaced ours. If they have survived since, would it be impossible to say that they’ve continued to progress?_ ’

Rhea nodded. “Indeed, it seems that our enemies have continued to defy common sense and so, we must expect that when we face them.

“Shamir, I have a new assignment for you. You are to go to the lands of House Hrym and Arundel and investigate. Its people, policy changes, everything. Alois will be in charge of looking out for Emiya and Hapi. Seteth, can you brief Alois later?” Shamir and Seteth nodded in acknowledgment.

“Lady Rhea, would it be possible to join Shamir in her assignment? As King Lambert mentioned, I was trained to track and used that to follow Cornelia throughout her castle. More than likely, if Arundel was also replaced, just like Cornelia, I may be able to help.” Emiya suddenly said.

“How were you able to track Cornelia?” Seteth asked.

“I’m sensitive to changes around me, and it manifests as a smell for me. When I was near the medallion, the smell made me feel like I was swimming through mud. As for Cornelia herself, she smelled like blood.”

“That’s absurd…” Seteth gaped at his words.

“Indeed. Then, Shamir, you will take him with you. However, I only want you to spy and track. The Church is neutral in Fodlan. We cannot be seen acting in a country’s internal affairs. If you find something, report back to me or Seteth.” Shamir and Emiya nodded at her words. “I will debrief you two on the specifics at a later time.”

She sighed. “This has gone for a long while. We shall end it here. It goes without saying, but everything that was mentioned here stays here.”

A collection of “Yes, Lady Rhea,” rang out and Rhea dismissed the meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:
> 
> Another chapter, and another chapter that went longer than before. I swear I didn’t mean to do this; it just happened that way. I wanted to include Hanneman’s Crest Test here but found the chapter too long already. The next chapter might just be that.
> 
> Let me know what you think. I might have seriously botched something up because the chapter went so long. I will edit this chapter if the mistake seems serious enough.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> 2021/02/10 Edit:
> 
> Outside of various spelling and grammar changes, I changed some words used to make it somewhat flow better. However, nothing major was changed from before.


	7. Crest Test

“Shamir, with the meeting adjourned, can you find Alois and lead our guests to Hanneman? If we are to find a cure for Hapi, I believe finding out what her Crest is should be the first step. Afterward, introduce Manuela to our guests as well. Have them receive a medical check-up.” Rhea smiled at Hapi.

Shamir nodded at Patricia, Emiya, and Hapi. “Follow me.” She left the chamber with the group in tow.

As the doors closed, Seteth visibly relaxed and exhaled. “Rhea, if this is truly the Agarthans, we must be ready.” Silence followed. Seteth looked back at Rhea. “Rhea?”

Rhea’s face showed a slight frown. “The boy… I’m not sure if my mind was playing tricks on me, but he focused on my eyes.”

Seteth’s eyes widened. “What? Did he see…?”

“Of that, I’m not sure. But when I looked back…” Rhea faced Seteth and Flayn. “It felt like I was looking at a mirror.”

<br>

Shamir and Alois led Lambert, Patricia, Hapi, and Emiya to a room on the same floor as the Audience Chamber.

As Alois knocked on the door, he faced the group. “Welcome to our resident Crest professional, Professor Hanneman! He joined the Academy just over a decade ago, from the Imperial Year 1165. He always sighs when I’m near him though.” Alois gave them a quick run-down on who they were about to meet.

Shamir sighed and looked to her side. “It’s because you’ve got too much energy,” she mumbled.

Emiya understood what she meant. Dealing with someone that had too much energy required a lot of dedication.

‘ _Just like a certain tiger._ ’

Fortunately, Alois seemed more focused on making others happy rather than chasing his own convenience.

The door opened and a man with gray hair popped out to take a look. His hair was slicked to his sides, though a front section had a cowlick. He had a thick sideburn and sported a mustache and goatee. A monocle and a suit completed his scholarly look.

“Good evening, Alois, Shamir. Is there anything I can help you two with?” He peered out even more and his eyes widened as his eyes roved over to Lambert. “Your Majesty! Pardon my lack of decorum and formal attire at the moment. I was not expecting a visit, much less a royal visitor!”

‘ _The business suit isn’t formal enough? What do you usually wear?_ ’

“Not to worry, Professor Hanneman. We’re here on the orders of the Archbishop. We’d like to see the Crests that these two wield, if any.” Lambert’s hand waved over Emiya and Hapi.

“Oh? Potential students? Very well, right this way, right this way.” Hanneman opened his doors. In the middle of his office was a machine. Behind it was a table with a neat stack of papers on one side. The walls were lined with books and one side had a door, and Emiya presumed it would have led to Hanneman’s personal quarters. There were chairs on the other side of the door.

‘ _If someone told me that this was a small library, I would have agreed. The man loves his pursuit of knowledge. I wonder how far he would go for it. Would he perfectly fit in the Clocktower?_ ’

As everyone filed in the room, Hanneman put on a fur coat of some type and then looked back at them.

“Well, then, I know Alois already introduced himself, but I would like to personally do it as well. My name is Hanneman, a Crest scholar, and professor at the Officers Academy. I regret to inform you that I am only a Crest scholar, not a professional. I do not believe I know everything about Crests yet.” Hapi and Emiya merely nodded at his introduction and stood in front of Hanneman and the machine. The adults sat on the chairs on the sideline.

Hanneman waved towards the machine in the middle of the room. “Now, this is a device I designed to determine whether the power of a Crest resides within you. Won’t hurt a bit, I promise.”

Emiya raised his hand. “Professor, I do not know what Crests are.”

“What?” Hanneman asked incredulously. He faced the adults.

“Amnesia,” Lambert responded.

Hanneman gasped. “Oh. Well then, allow me to tell you everything about them. Crests are, simply put, power incarnate. They are said to have been bestowed by the Goddess a long time ago. They exist within the flesh, and are passed through the blood. Those who carry Crests may excel at magic, display exceptional strength, or any number of boons. Each Crest has its own power, which is currently unknown to mortal understanding. For now, at least.”

‘ _Bestowed by the Goddess? Does it work like a contract? Perhaps the Goddess offered her blessings in exchange for something?_ ’

“Now, while I did say it is passed through the blood, it doesn’t mean that all descendants will inherit that Crest. In actuality, there are only a few that inherit the Crest in that Crest’s bloodline. Now, who would like to go first?” Hanneman asked, glancing between Hapi and Emiya.

Hapi and Emiya glanced at each other and Emiya held out his hand towards the machine. “Ladies first?”

Hapi stepped forward as Hanneman stepped aside. “Now, all you have to do is hold out your arm over this device.”

Hapi held out her arm and the machine glowed. It dimmed and a symbol appeared on the machine. It was made of two circles, one inside the other. The outer circle was incomplete, as it was not connected at the top. Four dashes crossed the outer circle while the bottom formed a triangle. The inner circle had a line on its top and bottom.

Hanneman’s eyes widened as Hapi. “Oh my! What a wonderful find, that’s the Crest of Timotheos. Those are quite rare, only coming from the Adrestian Empire!”

‘ _So Hapi’s Crest came from the Adrestian Empire? Are these enemies from Adrestia? First, our current lead, this Arundel guy, came from Adrestia. Then Hapi, who was found in Faerghus, actually came from Adrestia? Perhaps she was smuggled to Cornelia?_ ’

“Now then, it’s your turn!” Hanneman’s words interrupted Emiya’s thought. “Now, now, let us find out if you have one as well!” Emiya held out his left hand as he reached the machine.

Suddenly, red electricity formed around the machine.

Hanneman stepped back. “Huh?”

A red aura flared from the machine. Both aura and electricity began to converge on Emiya’s hand. Emiya tried to pull back but his arm seemed to be frozen on the spot. Lambert saw him try to get away and rushed towards him. He reached from behind Emiya and tried to pull him away, to no avail.

Emiya began to scream in pain and aura and electricity split into three sections. The doors to the room slammed open to show Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn. They held confused faces as they entered the room. However, when they saw the red light show, their faces showed their horror.

Flayn gasped and covered her mouth with both her hands. Seteth held her back with his left arm and himself with his right arm. Rhea was frozen in shock.

The light show ended just as abruptly as it ended. Lambert and Emiya fell backward. Emiya tried to crawl but felt pain flood his senses as he placed his left hand down.

He fell to the ground, gritting his teeth to stop himself from screaming. He tried to stop the pain by squeezing his left wrist with his other hand. It somewhat helped.

Suddenly, white light surrounded him, and the pain lessened. He stole a glance at the only person that he knew who could heal, Patricia. And sure enough, that healing spell came from her. He saw the disappearing magic circle in front of her.

“What was that, Hanneman?” Seteth asked.

“I-I do not know. I have never seen a reaction like that before.” Hanneman stammered out.

Emiya rolled over and sat upright. He held out his hand for Hanneman to look over.

“Alois, find Manuela and bring her,” Rhea commanded. Alois bowed and ran outside the room.

“A new Crest!” Hanneman exclaimed excitedly. “Lady Rhea, it’s a new Crest! To think there are still Crests out there that even I am unaware of! How thrilling!” He rolled Emiya’s around to see it from different angles, though not enough to hurt him. He slowly dropped Emiya’s hand to the ground and walked towards his device. He began to mumble unintelligently while he stroked his mustache.

Everyone else slowly approached Emiya, though Hapi rushed towards him and checked the Crest.

The Crest was separated into three sections and was vertically symmetrical. The first section was a diamond, though its top part was greatly elongated. One-half of the second section was a line that was slightly diagonal away from the middle and connected to the middle through two lines. The half was mirrored to the other side. The third section compromised of a waxing crescent moon and a waning crescent moon, connected through a V pointing down.

‘ _It was the Command Spell for Saber, from the Fifth Holy Grail War. But how?_ ’

“It’s like a spear... Or a sword…” Hapi commented.

‘ _You have no idea how close you are._ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Author’s Note:
> 
> Absolutely nothing will come out of this. While this chapter is canon to my story, the fact that Emiya has the Saber Command Spell does not mean anything will happen.
> 
> There will be no Saber, no Holy Grail War.
> 
> I did it for my own self-satisfaction and because I wanted this scene. I’ve been imagining this scene since I thought about this fic in October.
> 
> It’s literally just a scar on Emiya’s hand and eye-candy for Hapi, nothing else.
> 
> Also, since people seem to like Emiya better than EMIYA, or the lack of reaction to the change, I’ll keep it as Emiya from now on.
> 
> I’ve also taken some lines from when Byleth did their Crest Test. That scene was the inspiration for this, so it’s why there’s a bunch of canon lines.
> 
> 2021/02/10 Edit:
> 
> Various formatting, spelling, and grammar changes.
> 
> No major changes.
> 
> 2021/02/19 Edit:
> 
> As someone pointed out, it’s supposed to be Majesty for both kings and emperors. I made this error because I thought Dimitri was called “Highness” in canon, even past the timeskip. However, this is wrong because Dimitri became king after the final map and Dedue calls him “Majesty”.


	8. Medical Exam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hapi and Emiya take their medical exams.

“And I’m telling you, I feel fine. The pain is gone after Lady Patricia’s Restore spell.” Emiya grumbled.

Everyone was currently in the Medical Office run by Manuela Casagranda, the resident physician of the Monastery.

She was a pretty woman, with short, light brunette hair that curled inwards at its ends. Her make-up highlighted her lips and eyelashes with orange gloss, and underneath her left eye was a beauty mark. She wore a dark-green top that was connected to her choker that emphasized her chest. A white fur coat with orange strap accents that showed off her shoulders finished off her outfit.

‘ _The smell of booze is really hurting my nose. How much did this woman drink?! Isn’t the school year coming soon?_ ’

Emiya glanced at the others in the room. Lambert, Patricia, Shamir, Alois, and Rhea seemed like they were used to it. As for Seteth, Hapi, and Flayn…

They were outside the room, just peeking in. From what Emiya could see, Seteth held the two girls back with narrowed eyes and a scowl that glared at Manuela. Emiya thought that perhaps Seteth already had a bone to pick with Manuela.

“And I’m telling you, I’m the medical expert here. As much as I don’t like Hanneman for the man with a stick up his own…” Manuela grumbled. “Anyway, I know Hanneman doesn’t take his Crest research lightly, and that extends to the machine in his office. Most likely, he’s probably reading the logs on that machine to figure out what’s wrong instead of sleeping.”

“Indeed. What happened was unprecedented and has never happened in the history of the Church. Not only that, but this is also the first physical manifestation of the Crest on someone’s body. Crest users can conjure them, but they need to be trained first.” Rhea added on. “Manuela, what have you found so far?”

“Hmm…” Manuela hummed as she inspected Emiya’s left hand. “It seems like some sort of burn mark, like a scar from a fire. Apart from the discoloration, and with the boy saying it doesn’t hurt anymore, there really is nothing to it.”

She had been doing various things such as rotating the hand, touching the Crest, swabbing the hand with alcohol, but there has been no change. She also had him take his shirt off and was slightly alarmed by the scars. However, she didn’t say anything outside of raised eyebrows aimed at Emiya. Emiya shrugged them off.

Rhea nodded as she turned to Emiya. “Are you still able to use your magic?”

Emiya held out his hand. Blue electricity surrounded his hand and formed a simple steel sword.

“No problems,” Emiya answered and dismissed the sword.

“Is that the power of his Crest? That’s wonderful!” Manuela stared in awe. “I’ve never seen magic like that before.”

Emiya glanced back at Rhea and Rhea glanced back. ‘ _Is my magic on the need-to-know basis?_ ’ 

Rhea quickly turned to Manuela. “Indeed. Since it’s a new Crest, its effects are unknown, though it seems to have affected his magic.”

‘ _Need-to-know it is then._ ’ Emiya looked back to Manuela.

Manuela didn’t seem to have noticed the silent exchange.

“Is there anything else that we should know about him?” Rhea continued.

“Well, physically, he’s in great shape, even better than some of the students here.” Manuela glanced at him. “What did you do to get this fit this young? I know children want to start early, but you seem like you’ve been doing this for ages. On top of that, you’ve got scars to show for it. Were you in some sort of underground colosseum?”

Emiya nearly snorted at the thought. “No.”

Manuela glanced at Rhea, though she said nothing. “Oh… I see how it is.” Manuela nodded as she filled out a medical form.

“So… We’re done here, right?” Emiya asked.

Manuela nodded again. “You’re done, yes, but there is one more patient, right?” She looked at the door as Hapi entered the room.

“This is Hapi. We would also like to see if she requires anything.” Rhea answered.

Manuela hummed. “Hmm, okay then. Let’s start with your age, Hapi. How old are you?” She reached out to a stack of paper, seemingly to get a new form.

“17.”

Manuela perked up. “What? All men must leave and close the doors. Now go on, shoo; doctor’s orders.” Lambert, Alois, and Emiya stood and left, closing the doors behind them.

‘ _Some girl-talk then?_ ’

Emiya and Lambert leaned on the wall that faced the door while Alois stood next to Seteth. It seemed that Patricia had used a Silence spell to block the sound from leaving the room.

Emiya, Lambert, Seteth, and Flayn stood in the hallway in awkward silence. Emiya tried to keep his mind occupied by looking at the rooms in the hallways and the architecture, though they were nothing of note. Suddenly, Flayn approached Emiya before Seteth could stop her.

“Are you doing okay?” Emiya perked an eyebrow at her question.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, this is all new to you, right? You were stuck in a room from what you could remember…”

Emiya could only shrug at her statement. “I’m fine. I was used to it.” Flayn grimaced.

“That’s not exactly a good thing to say, you know.” Flayn pouted.

Emiya frowned a bit. ‘ _Not like I had a choice. Though, now that I’m here…_ ’

“Then, what should I be used to? What are you used to?” Emiya asked.

Flayn slightly flinched at his question and looked down, making Emiya raise an eyebrow.

‘ _Maybe I hit a sore spot._ ’

Seteth saw the awkward air around them and tried to stop it. “Flayn, perhaps- “

Lambert held his hand out before Seteth finished what he was saying.

“Seteth, let them talk. They’re kids.” Seteth glanced at Emiya before glancing back to Lambert. Lambert shrugged and smiled, then Seteth glanced at Alois. Alois nodded in agreement. Seteth grumbled.

“Sorry. Then, what about the Monastery? You’ve been here for a while, right? What do you usually do here?” Emiya asked.

Flayn suddenly looked up and her eyes were wide with excitement. “Well, there’s a lot of things here that I like! There’s the Pond by the Greenhouse…”

‘ _Oh no…_ ’

~~~

“Lady Rhea,” Manuela turned back to Rhea with a worried face after examining Hapi. “She’s severely underweight. I believe that is causing her body to not develop well enough for her age, especially for someone with a Crest. I also believe that her hormone levels have been modified. I’ve tried to use a Restore staff on her, but it felt like my spell wasn’t completely done when it finished.

“I’m prescribing a set diet before she receives a more normal diet. It will be detrimental for her to eat normal servings at the moment. Where did you get these kids, Lady Rhea?”

‘ _Should I tell her? No, she does not need to know._ ’

“Please, Lady Rhea. I need to know what happened to completely diagnose them.” Manuela pleaded.

Rhea’s face softened at Manuela’s plea. ‘ _Only a little bit then._ ’ “Both of them were found in enemy hands. Due to traumatic experiences, Emiya has lost his memories while Hapi’s Crest was modified. It seems like it summons monsters when she sighs.”

Manuela’s eyes widened. “Oh, I see. Then, most likely, her serotonin hormone levels have been changed to make sure that she doesn’t feel ‘down’, in a sense. However, it’s also making her less emotive since it helps control the mood. Though, if that’s the case, then the body should make more on its own.” Manuela turned to Hapi. “To boost its development, then I suggest you make a friend, Hapi, and spend some time with them. I also prescribe walks throughout the Monastery during the day and some exercise, though we need to make sure your body is ready. We’ll start with your diet, and when you’ve gained some weight and muscle mass, we can get you started on those exercises. Small walks are fine, then we can start lengthening them, okay?”

Hapi nodded.

Manuela groaned and hugged Hapi. “Oh, I can’t believe that someone did something so vile to you.” Rhea smiled at Manuela’s show of affection.

‘ _If only you stopped drinking, you might find someone to settle with. Also, start cleaning up your own space._ ’

Rhea glanced around the Medical Room. She was eternally grateful that she specified that this room was not Manuela’s personal Medical Room. This was still public grounds and not Manuela’s personal quarters.

Manuela let go of Hapi. “Now, you said that the boy, Emiya, has amnesia, Lady Rhea?” Rhea nodded. “Alright, then I’ll let the boys in. I’ll have to see what kind of amnesia he has.”

Manuela opened the door to the Medical Room, and Rhea saw that Emiya was talking with Flayn about…

‘ _Fish? Of course, it’s fish. Cethleann loves fish. But how does Emiya know about preparing fish?_ ’

Rhea shook her head. Perhaps he learned how to live off the land during his assignments. It would be something to ask when they are alone.

Manuela seemed excited when she saw the two. “Oh? Did the two of you hit it off? My, I didn’t think you go for the serious type, Flayn!”

Seteth, Flayn, and Emiya showed various faces. Seteth held a cross between an angry and soured face, as if he were tricked into eating a lemon. Flayn had a confused face. Most likely, she was just making conversation with Emiya. Emiya’s face was of disbelief, though it turned to indifference.

“Manuela, do not insinuate that something is going on between the two; I will not allow it!” Seteth angrily said.

Manuela rolled her eyes. “I’m just joking, Seteth. No need to take it so seriously.”

Rhea shook her head. ‘ _You care too much to be called a brother, Cichol. It is far too easy to see._ ’

“Seteth, they are only making conversation; let them. Flayn is a growing child and stopping her from talking to someone her age will only stunt that growth.” Seteth sputtered in surprise while holding a shocked face. Alois laughed at Seteth’s expense.

‘ _Sorry, brother, but you hold her hand too much._ ’ Rhea shrugged at Seteth’s face. Seteth grumbled as everyone entered the room.

“Now,” Manuela clapped her hands as the doors closed. “Here’s a quick recap for Hapi: a small diet, which will increase over time. She’ll be doing short, daily walks during the day, which will get longer as her body increases in weight and muscle mass. At a certain point, we’ll include daily exercises.” Everyone nodded in understanding.

“The part that I cannot help with is her making friends. Some of her hormones have been changed, though they should return to normal levels over time. To help with this, I recommend that she spend time with friends or people that she can connect to. Ideally, it’ll be boys and girls of the same age or those she already knows. Add in the fact that her sighs seem to attract monsters, it’ll be hard to find someone who’ll be right next to her.”

‘ _Oh… That’s easy._ ’

Rhea glanced at Emiya. “Emiya?”

Emiya raised an eyebrow. “That’s a question? I thought it was a given.”

Hapi was confused. “Huh? But, what about…”

‘ _His assignments._ ’

“It doesn’t mean I’ll be out all the time.” Emiya rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “I’ll stick close while I’m in the grounds. This is my home right now anyway.”

It was hard to see, but Rhea saw a slight blush form on Hapi’s face. “Thanks… Red.”

Emiya played with the white tuft on his head. “Red? I’ve got white hair too, you know.”

“Your hair is mostly red. Unless you want me to call you old?” Hapi raised a questioning eyebrow, teasing Emiya.

Emiya gave it a thought for a moment, before glancing at Hapi. “No, I think I’ll stick with Red, Pink.”

“That works,” Hapi nodded, and Rhea saw a slight smile.

There was a slight scuffle of noise behind Rhea, and she looked back. She saw Patricia shaking Lambert, who wore an exasperated look.

“Look, look, they’re teasing each other! They’re so cute!” Patricia continuously whispered to Lambert as he tried to whisper multiple variants of ‘Yes, I see,’ back.

“Great, now that has been solved,” Manuela faced Emiya as her voice caught everyone’s attention. “Lady Rhea said that you have amnesia. What do you remember?”

Emiya stroked his chin in deep thought. “Nothing outside of the name ‘Emiya’. And even then, it’s more like I feel a connection. Like, it feels right to be called that.”

“A name perhaps… So, it’s the past you have trouble remembering, not the recent days or something similar?” Emiya shook his head. “Then, you most likely have dissociative retrograde amnesia, linked to trauma. Then, what do you know about the world about you? Do you remember anything? Fodlan, Crests? What about the three countries: the Adrestian Empire, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and the Leicester Alliance?”

“No, I don’t remember any of those. I only started learning about them in Faerghus a few days ago, but I still haven’t remembered anything.” Emiya responded.

“Then, all I can say is to give him lessons and hope that his memory returns. There is no sure way to treat amnesia, but sometimes making up for those lost memories help.” Manuela suggested to Rhea.

‘ _A long road ahead of him them._ ’

“Very well. I’ll personally handle those lessons then.” Rhea said.

Everyone whipped their heads at her statement. “Eh?”

Seteth argued first. “Lady Rhea, you’re the Archbishop! You do not have the time to- “

Rhea waved her hand as she looked at Emiya. “I’ll make time. There will be no arguments.”

~~~

‘ _I see, so you want to personally train and control me. Not bad._ ’

Emiya understood what Rhea was trying to do. She was going to personally train her attack dog.

“If the Archbishop offers, then I shall take it.” Emiya bowed as Rhea nodded.

“Now, will that be all, Manuela? It is quite late already, and I believe that our guests are due for some rest.” Rhea smiled at Manuela.

“Nope, it seems like everything has been handled. I’ll present a diet routine for Hapi tomorrow. For breakfast, I suggest something small and easy to swallow. Perhaps light soup, without any chunks of meat? Don’t force yourself to eat, otherwise, your body may puke it out. Understood, Hapi?” Manuela instructed Hapi as she listened with rapt attention. She joined everyone else as they stood to leave the Medical Room.

“Have a good night everyone!” Manuela waved as the doors closed behind them.

Emiya sighed. ‘ _Today was a very eventful day._ ’

“Emiya, Shamir.” Rhea’s voice caught Emiya’s attention. “Report to me tomorrow noon. Alois, do you mind showing our guests where will sleep for tonight? I believe that there is a large guest room large enough for Lambert and Patricia to be comfortable enough. There should also be another guest room with two beds for Emiya and Hapi.”

Alois nodded.

“Thank you very much for your consideration, Lady Rhea,” Lambert said as he bowed. Patricia, Hapi, and Emiya followed.

Rhea smiled. “You’re welcome. Have a good night, everyone.” She walked down the hallway and turned into a corner, with Seteth and Flayn in tow. Before turning the corner, Flayn looked back and waved enthusiastically. Hapi and Alois waved while Emiya nodded back.

“Now then,” Alois turned back to the group, “who wants to hit the hay?”

He then paused and stroked his chin. “Why was a hay-filled scarecrow given an award? Because he was outstanding in his field!”

Alois laughed as he led the group in the opposite direction to where Rhea went.

No one laughed at Alois’s joke that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2021/02/10 Edit:
> 
> Formatting, spelling, and grammar changes.
> 
> Added some missing words.


	9. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shamir and Emiya are debriefed over their assignment in House Hrym.

“Hey, it’s Alois!”

“Wait, isn’t that King Lambert with him?”

“Yea, I think so. Who’s the woman next to him? She’s pretty.”

“And what about those kids? I’ve never seen them in the Monastery before. That hair too… I’ve never seen someone with two hair colors… Maybe when they’re old…”

“Why’s his left hand bandaged up? Did he hurt himself when fighting someone?”

Emiya sighed. There were too many incessant grumblings all around him. It wouldn’t usually bother him, per se, but a headache was forming.

~~~

Emiya could barely sleep. His mind was preoccupied with the ‘Crest’ on his left hand and had been playing with it since he laid down on his bed. He tried commanding Saber, or a Servant, to arrive by his side, but nothing happened. Not that he had any hopes for it; the Command Seals wouldn’t work without a summoned Servant anyway. He was tempted to use Rule Breaker, but he wasn’t sure what would happen if he used it on himself. Not only that, but the Command Seals also didn’t glow as it did during the Holy Grail Wars. For all intents and purposes, it really seemed like a scar from a burn. There were no bumps when he ran his finger over it; it was smooth like the rest of his hand.

He had thought that his contract with Saber had ended a long time ago. Unless… He reached towards the middle of his chest.

‘ _Maybe the machine reacted to Avalon?_ ’

He had already taken back Avalon from Hapi before she woke up in Fhirdiad. But still, why would the machine react to Avalon? Does it have to do with Saber’s connection to it?

Emiya shook his head. While these are things to think about, he had an assignment tomorrow.

~~~

“Don’t look so glum in the morning, Emiya! Here, take a plum. Maybe it’ll make your morning better.” Alois laughed at his own joke as he handed Emiya a plum.

“Thanks, I guess.” ‘ _Maybe some sugar would help._ ’

That wasn’t to say that breakfast was bad; rather, breakfast was good. The menu was basically open to anything, so long as there were ingredients in the kitchen. Some students even brought ingredients and specified an order.

Emiya looked around him. While had Emiya picked the Fish Sandwich, Hapi ordered Onion Gratin Soup, as per Manuela’s orders. Lambert ordered Gautier Cheese Gratin and Patricia also ordered Fish Sandwich. Alois had something called Fisherman’s Bounty. It seemed like today’s main was fish. What is it with this place and fish?

‘ _I could do better._ ’

“It’s almost time.” Emiya straightened his back in surprise. Everyone else in the table bar Hapi jumped in their seats. Hapi’s eyes went wide.

Shamir was right behind him, arms crossed.

“Sorry, I just finished.” Emiya stood up and put away his dishes. “King Lambert, Queen Patricia, if I may take my leave. I’ll see you later, Hapi, Sir Alois.” He bowed before he left, following Shamir’s footsteps.

~~~

Alois frowned as soon as Emiya and Shamir were out of sight. “Only 14-years old and already on his first mission.” He murmured, then turned to Lambert. “Anyway, what are your plans for today, King Lambert? Preparing to leave for Fhirdiad?”

“Indeed. We’ve been away for a long while now. I’d like to see Dimitri again.” Lambert smiled as he continued to eat.

“I know that Emiya’s got his magic, but you’re not worried about him at all?” Alois wore a worried face.

Lambert shook his head. “No, not at all. You should have seen him when he fought. He wielded his magic so well. The way he moved wasn’t normal. A child shouldn’t have been able to do what he did. Word of advice for you, Alois.”

Lambert looked straight at Alois’s eyes. “He’s not normal. It would be best to not apply common sense when it comes to him.”

~~~

“Welcome, Shamir, Emiya.” Rhea welcomed both with a smile as they entered the Audience Chamber. She was alone; Seteth felt that there was no need for his presence when Rhea was giving away assignments.

Shamir slightly bowed when she and Emiya were in the center of the chamber, and Emiya followed shortly.

“This is your first assignment, Emiya, and so, you are expected to fall to Shamir’s instructions.” Emiya nodded at Rhea’s words and she continued. “There have been reports of odd happening in the lands of House Hrym. You are to investigate and return to report your findings. Do not try to apprehend these enemies on your own.”

“And what if Arundel truly has been replaced like Cornelia? His men could have those medallions.” Emiya asked.

“Emiya, how long do your weapons last? Is there a distance between you and it before they disappear?”

Emiya shook his head. “My weapons do not have a set range, and the longest my weapons have lasted are approximately a week.”

‘ _Good, then that makes this easier._ ’

“Then, can you create a sword and leave it here in the Monastery? This way, if you need immediate reinforcements, we can deploy a strike force towards House Hrym. You won’t have to come back. All you must do is wait for reinforcements. If we send out a force of wyvern riders, then it will take approximately about a day to reach House Hrym.” Emiya nodded as Rhea finished.

‘ _Good. This should allow me to see the limits of his magic._ ’

“Lady Rhea, what are our orders if the children of the Emperor are being held captive?” Shamir asked.

“If you find out that these enemies hold Ionius’s heirs, then hold your positions and call for reinforcements. Try to find a way in and rescue the children. Do not engage unless you must.

“Remember, your first objective is to find out more information about these enemies. If you can find evidence about the heirs, then take it, but not at the cost of the first objective. If they realize that the Church is on their tail, they may run to somewhere we do not know of.”

Shamir and Emiya nodded.

“You may leave the Monastery tonight.” Shamir and Emiya nodded. With the debriefing over, they began to leave the room.

“Emiya, stay,” Rhea commanded. Emiya abruptly stopped before returning to the center of the chamber. Shamir left the room.

Emiya raised an eyebrow. “And the lessons begin today?” Rhea nodded.

“Yes. You may have to face them in your coming mission.”

“Then what about Ms. Shamir?” Emiya asked. “She’s also going to be in this mission.”

“All she knows is that the enemies are enemies of the Church. She does not need to learn more about them. She is a Knight of Seiros and will have duties that require her to act in that capacity. You, on the other hand, are not. You will hunt these enemies and kill them. You won’t be a knight. Do you understand what this means?” Rhea asked.

Emiya nodded. “We made a deal. You give me information on these enemies of yours and I’ll hunt them down.”

‘ _His eyes… It really is like looking at a mirror._ ’

“Why?” Rhea narrowed her eyes. “Most people would never even think about going back once they have escaped. You, however, have decided to jump back to the fire.”

Emiya shrugged. “I’m not like most people.”

“You dodged the question.” Rhea frowned. “Answer me. Otherwise, Shamir will continue without you.”

Emiya stayed quiet, then opened his mouth, only to close it again. “I was trained to hunt and kill monsters. Why shouldn’t I use those same skills to find the people that are threatening Fodlan?”

Rhea stared at Emiya.

‘ _It is not fully true. It makes sense to bite the hands that traumatized him, but why him, specifically? He can just leave it to us, the Church, and live in the Monastery, but he has been very adamant in taking the field. He has been pushing his magic to be this perfect answer to finding the Agarthans…_ ’

Rhea’s eyes widened.

‘ _He cannot sit idly while knowing his captors are out there. He cannot forgive himself if he waits for results._ ’

Rhea’s face softened. “You cannot forgive yourself if you sat around and waited, can’t you?”

Emiya’s face twitched slightly. While normal humans may have missed it, Rhea’s sharp draconic senses caught it.

“You know that other experiments are going on; Hapi is an example of that.” Rhea slowly approached Emiya. “With the knowledge that there are more, and with a definite clue to their location, you feel that you must be there to fight. So long as someone needs saving, you cannot lay down your arms and rest.”

Rhea stopped in front of Emiya and knelt in front of him. At this point, Emiya’s hands were clenched tightly, enough that his knuckles were turning white. Emiya looked to the side, not meeting Rhea’s eyes, though his face was calm.

“You feel guilty that you are free while others are still out there. And so, you continually throw yourself to the fire, hoping that your actions will be enough for repentance.” Rhea caressed Emiya’s face with her left hand and turned him so that Emiya looked at her.

“You have survivor’s guilt,” she murmured.

“And what if I do?” Emiya asked softly.

Rhea hugged Emiya and a tear fell from her eye. The name itself was telling enough that even a child could know what it meant. For a child, whose attitude was older than his actual age, Rhea thought, Emiya didn’t need to be explained what it meant. “Then you and I are very similar. No one in Fodlan knows it better than I do.”

Emiya tried to look at her, but with how tightly she hugged him, he could only slightly tilt his head. “What do you mean?”

Rhea let him go and turned to look outside the Audience Chamber. The sun was still high in the sky, seemingly midday.

She turned back to Emiya. “There is still time before you have to leave. Let us continue in my room. This is not something that should be said here.”

Rhea moved swiftly out of the Audience Chamber with Emiya in tow. Emiya slightly struggled to initially keep up due to his short legs but found a comfortable stride to keep pace.

They reached Rhea’s Room and entered. Inside, there were a few chairs, a table, and a large bed in velvet purple. She locked the doors while Emiya moved two chairs for the two of them to sit on. Rhea sat one and Emiya on the opposite.

Rhea inhaled a breath and slowly exhaled to calm herself down. Rhea stared at Emiya with a sad smile and began her tale.

“Long ago, a Goddess descended from the heavens…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:
> 
> Expect the next chapter to be the true history of Fodlan from Azure Moon and Verdant Winds. I need to do this since it’ll allow some Fate-only readers to understand Fodlan history. On top of that, some FE3H players may not even know it since you must play through 3 different routes, and some players probably only played 1.
> 
> That said, I also want to do this so that I can get my history straight.
> 
> I've also edited the format. Does it look better?
> 
> 2021/02/10 Edit:
> 
> Formatting changes.
> 
> Added missing words.
> 
> No plot changes.


	10. Omake - Fire Emblem Heroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summoning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:  
> I’m sorry that this chapter barely has any Fate content; it’s more FE-focused, specifically FEH. I know not everyone has played or liked FEH for various reasons. However, this is an omake, so you can skip it. It has absolutely no bearing on the fic. Personalities may change from this omake to the actual story.

It started when Kiran summoned under a new banner from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. He got Claude, again. This was, what? The fourth Claude? Still, this Claude was his Academy Phase version. However, his title was different: The Prankster. And because of that, Kiran couldn’t merge the Claude he had with the new one. Still, it was a new Hero, and Kiran liked meeting new Heroes.

The trouble both caused reached new heights. At least before, Claude only caught people by surprise in one area of Askr. With two of them, their range doubled. And before, at least Almyran King Claude caught Schemer Claude occasionally. Now, there was always bound to be trouble. Alfonse even had to bring back the “Things Claude Can’t Do” list and posted it on the Notification Board.

And then, Prankster Claude met Edelgard: Adrestian Emperor.

**< br>**

“Holy hell, you’re shorter than I remember,” Claude said.

“Excuse me?” Edelgard asked, befuddled. Everyone who had come from Fodlan had never commented on her height. Not that her short stature bothered her, but that everyone already knew she was this short.

“I said you’re shorter than I remember seeing you. Last I checked, you were taller than me back in the Academy. This is weird…” Claude commented, but then his face turned into a smirk. “Guess I do this now.” Claude patted Edelgard on the head.

Edelgard snapped.

**< br>**

“I’m sorry, Summoner. I-I do not know what happened to me. He just smirked and then I lost it. Not even in the presence of Rhea did this happen.” Edelgard was horrified. After calming down and was stopped by Dimitri: King of Faerghus, Edelgard realized that she had been chucking axes that were taken from CHOP towards Claude all day. Certainly, she fought against Dimitri and Claude in her timeline, but their younger selves did not. They still lived their lives in the happiness of ‘normal’ days.

“Don’t worry. It was bound to happen.” Kiran said, hoping that Edelgard would forgive herself for her outburst.

“Hey, Kiran.” Kiran turned to Prankster Claude, who was hanging upside-down, held by ropes on his ankles. Edelgard deemed it enough for his punishment. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but when are you going to summon again? I want to see more from my timeline.”

“Feeling antsy? Others who came from different timelines of the same world tend to be close,” Kiran said.

“Antsy… Yea, something like that. Like, there is something fundamentally different from the Edelgard from my timeline. Hell, even Dimitri seems off to me. The other Claude seems the same as me though.” Claude stroked his chin.

Edelgard sighed. “Why don’t you tell me what happened in your timeline? I doubt that a lot has changed. It’s been a consistent aspect in all the versions of Edelgard.”

Claude shrugged. “Sure.”

**< br>**

“Hold on, my father and brother are alive?!” Felix: Icy Gift Giver asked incredulously.

Ingrid: Solstice Knight ran off to Kiran and started shaking him. “Kiran! Summon him now!”

“I-I can’t control who comes out! Y-You know that!” Kiran replied when he could.

At some point, everyone from Fodlan had gotten closer as Claude told his tale to Edelgard.

“We’re officially royal playmates?!” Annette: Overachiever and Mercedes: Kindly Devotee squealed.

“Yea, and your dad is super laid-back. He even jokes with Alois once in a while.” Claude added.

“What?! No way… So that was possible?” Annette went from excited, to crying her eyes out as she fell to her knees. Her hands cupped her face as Mercedes rubbed her back to try and calm her down.

“Err… Did I say something wrong?” Claude worriedly asked.

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong.” King of Faerghus Dimitri said as he finished untying Claude’s feet. Claude somehow landed on his feet. “In our timeline, Gilbert, or in your case, Gustave, sent himself into exile because he couldn’t protect my father, King Lambert.”

“I see. Then, the cause of our differences lies in…” Claude trailed off and Dimitri nodded.

“Indeed. Father survived the Tragedy of Duscur. And you said his savior was this person called Emiya?”

“Yup. He looks really close to a Duscurian native, but apparently, he wasn’t. When I first met him, he had the dark skin tone and the white hair, but he didn’t have the jawline for it. On top of that, Hapi said that he had red hair before too. Everyone from the Blue Lions said the same thing. Apparently, his appearance changed because of his magic.” Claude said.

Dimitri and Edelgard’s eyes widened. Unnatural white hair color?

“Was his past connected to Those Who Slithered in the Dark?” Edelgard asked hurriedly.

Claude hummed in deep thought. “Not too sure… He kept his cards and past close to his chest. Hapi and Lady Rhea were pretty close to him though. And even if I did know, sorry, but that’s not my story to tell.”

“Oh, did I hear something about Hapi?” Byleth asked as Byleth and Rhea: Fell Star’s Duo approached from nearby. Edelgard ground her teeth in silence.

“Oh, heya Teach!” Claude waved.

“And was I mentioned just now?” Rhea asked.

“Yea, you ever hear a kid called Emiya or Hapi?” Claude responded with a question.

“Sadly, not Emiya.” Rhea shook her head. “Hapi, however, is part of the fourth house, the Ashen Wolves. They live in the Abyss, underground of the Monastery.”

Claude froze. “Wait, she’s not part of Blue Lions?”

“No, I met her for the first time in the Monastery,” Dimitri answered, and Byleth, Rhea, and Edelgard nodded.

Claude frowned. “Weird…”

A shout broke from a small distance away. Kiran was waving his hands as he walked off towards the summoning area. “Alright, alright! I’ll summon again, see who we get! Happy, Ingrid?”

Ingrid squealed as everyone followed.

Hopefully, the next Hero they summon could give more answers.

**< br>**

“A thousand orbs down and still no one new! This is my last nine orbs! Please, just give me someone!” Kiran cried out as five orbs disappeared from his hands.

Indeed, they’ve been waiting for hours now. Most heroes were sent home immediately while others were merged. At this point, everyone had already taken out picnic mats and tables around the Summoning Area while Kiran stood in front of the Summoning Monolith.

Prankster Claude was grumbling as he drank apple cider. Even here, they still had drinking ages! Absurd, he should be able to drink already, he’s eighteen already. But no, Alfonse had a strict drinking age policy that barred everyone under twenty-one from drinking. Prankster Claude glared with narrowed eyes towards Almyran King Claude sneered as he drank with a mug of ale.

Smoke erupted from the bottom of the Summoning Monolith and a bright light engulfed the area. A voice coughed as the sudden light from the monolith died out. To Claude, a very familiar voice.

“Whoa… Where am I? This isn’t Fodlan.” Hapi: Animal Tamer asked between coughs.

“Yes!” Kiran cheered.

“No!” Ingrid fell to her knees and cried.

“Uh… Hello?” Hapi looked around as a crowd formed around her. “Um… Hi?” She hesitantly waved.

Adrestian Emperor Edelgard, King of Faerghus Dimitri, and Prankster Claude immediately rushed to the front of the crowd.

Dimitri came first. “Whose House are you from?”

“Whoa, Dim? Didn’t expect to see you here. Where am I? And what’s with the eyepatch?” Hapi asked, and then she huffed. “And wait, don’t ask that question like you don’t know. I’m in your House. Always has been, remember? Did you knock yourself or something?”

All eyes turned towards Prankster Claude.

“Oh, so you’re from my timeline, eh?” Claude approached Hapi. “Then it’ll be my job to get you caught up.”

“Uh, sure?” Hapi followed Claude.

“Hey, hey, I’m about to summon again! Please clear the area!” Kiran shouted as the crowd began to disperse back to where they stayed. Claude and Hapi sat down in the Fodlan section of the area.

“So, apparently,” Claude began. “We’re Heroes, capital H, that were summoned through time and space to help save Askr. Now, Kiran over there,” Claude pointed to Kiran. “He’s the guy that’s summoning everyone. I was summoned a couple of days ago and met everyone here. The weird part is that their history is different from ours. Apparently, King Lambert is dead, Glenn is dead too, Gustave is a pain-in-the-ass, and Edelgard is very short. There’s also a bunch of more differences, but we’d have to go around and check. I’ve only realized that some weird things are going on this morning.”

Hapi snorted and smirked. “I bet you used your first two days to go around pranking people.” Claude merely shrugged.

“Hapi, you snorted.” Dimitri interrupted them and both looked back to him.

Hapi tilted her head in confusion. “Yea, is there a problem? What happened to your Hapi?”

“Aren’t you afraid that you’d summon Demonic Beasts?”

Hapi shook her head. “That problem has been gone for ages!”

Dimitri frowned. “How did- “

“Wait, why did only three orbs get taken? Hey, take this one too!” Kiran shouted at the Summoning Monolith as he waved a single orb.

Suddenly, instead of smoke appearing from the bottom of the monolith, twelve thin beams of light shot straight to the sky and a summoning circle appeared. The beams condensed into balls of light and began rotating around the summoning circle. These balls of light also began to glitter in gold as they rotated faster and faster, turning into a circle of light.

Another beam of light shot through the sky, but instead of twelve thin beams, it was a single, large beam of light. Fearing for the Summoner’s life since this had never happened before, everyone began to flood the Summoning Area, defending Kiran from whatever was happening.

The light died out and a card spun in the middle of the air. It stopped spinning, its back facing the crowd and everyone saw an archer on the back of the card. The card disappeared into motes of light and the motes shaped themselves into a human form.

That human form had white hair that was pulled back and dark skin tone. He wore a red jacket and waist cape, and black armor covered his body. He had some sort of black pants and boots to complete his outfit.

“Archer-class Servant. I have been summoned and come at your request.” The person began.

“Eh?” The majority of the crowd was dumbfounded.

“Yes!” Hapi shouted in excitement.

“No!” Ingrid shouted in disappointment and tears.

**< br>**

**Author’s Notes:**

So, uh… Sorry. I know I said that the next chapter would be the true history of Fodlan, but I’m still in the middle of compiling everything. On top of that, university is coming, so I won’t have a lot of time to focus on this. This is my last semester, so I want to get everything done properly.

Due to that, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to post for a while. On top of that, this idea has been stewing for a while in my head, ever since someone said they were waiting for an omake with FEH.

So, yea. Really, I wasn’t able to focus a whole lot on the information gathering because this idea kept popping in my head as I went through videos and stuff. I needed this out of the way ASAP.

As for personalities, Claude is Claude, no surprise there. Even in the canon of my fic, I don’t see Leicester Alliance changing all that much. On the other hand, Hapi is a lot happier. Emiya got rid of her Demonic Beast summoning sighs before she got summoned.

As for if that will happen in my fic, I’m not sure, but I want to though. I’m just trying to figure out how.

**< br>**

**Author’s Notes:**

I’m sorry that this chapter barely has any Fate content; it’s more FE-focused, specifically FEH. I know not everyone has played or liked FEH for various reasons. However, this is an omake, so you can skip it. It has absolutely no bearing on the fic. Personalities may change from this omake to the actual story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:  
> So, uh… Sorry. I know I said that the next chapter would be the true history of Fodlan, but I’m still in the middle of compiling everything. On top of that, university is coming, so I won’t have a lot of time to focus on this. This is my last semester, so I want to get everything done properly.  
> Due to that, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to post for a while. On top of that, this idea has been stewing for a while in my head, ever since someone said they were waiting for an omake with FEH.  
> So, yea. Really, I wasn’t able to focus a whole lot on the information gathering because this idea kept popping in my head as I went through videos and stuff. I needed this out of the way ASAP.  
> As for personalities, Claude is Claude, no surprise there. Even in the canon of my fic, I don’t see Leicester Alliance changing all that much. On the other hand, Hapi is a lot happier. Emiya got rid of her Demonic Beast summoning sighs before she got summoned.  
> As for if that will happen in my fic, I’m not sure, but I want to though. I’m just trying to figure out how.


	11. History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emiya learns the history of Fodlan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:
> 
> This is officially Chapter 11, the sidestory “Omake – Fire Emblem Heroes” is the official Chapter 10.
> 
> However, with how Spacebattle does its threadmarks, I had to specify the sidestory as separate from the main story threadmark.
> 
> You do not have to read Chapter 10 to understand the story. I’m just doing this to keep the consistency between the places I upload this.
> 
> So far, I uploaded to Fanfiction, AO3, and Spacebattle. I am planning to upload to Wattpad as well in the future.

** Author’s Notes: **

This is officially Chapter 11, the side story “Omake – Fire Emblem Heroes” is the official Chapter 10.

However, with how Spacebattle does its threadmarks, I had to specify the side story as separate from the main story threadmark.

You do not have to read Chapter 10 to understand the story. I’m just doing this to keep the consistency between the places I upload this.

So far, I uploaded to Fanfiction, AO3, and Spacebattle. I am planning to upload to Wattpad as well in the future.

~~~

Long ago, a Goddess descended from the heavens and upon this continent. She took the form of a human, used her blood to give birth to her children, and became known as the Nabateans. With her children, she shared knowledge and skills with the people of the land. Together, they built a prosperous civilization. That civilization was called Agartha.

However, the Agarthans turned their backs on the Goddess and her teachings and waged wars atop wars. Soon, they began to believe themselves to be gods and challenged the Goddess to war.

That war was catastrophic. The land was scorched in that war, blood ran like oceans, and spears of light rained from the heavens. Humanity almost became extinct. However, the Goddess ultimately won, and the Agarthans retreated underground.

The Goddess used all her power to restore the land to what it originally was. But it took an astonishing amount of time to do so, and the Goddess rested, having done her duty. The continent eventually found peace once more as the Goddess fell to her long slumber in what is called the Holy Tomb.

The children that chose to remain built a settlement around the Holy Tomb to protect and wait for their mother to awaken once more.

Centuries passed and the Agarthans rose once more, or rather, their descendants, Those Who Slither in the Dark. They were able to convince a bandit named Nemesis that he could attain strength by killing the Goddess. And so, he invaded the settlement and the Holy Tomb. He took plundered the body of the Goddess and Those Who Slither in the Dark used the body to create a weapon and her blood to give Nemesis the Crest of Flames.

With the Crest of Flames and the Goddess’s body as a weapon, he was commanded to attack the children of the Goddess. He slaughtered most of the children and, just like their mother, were turned into weapons. Nemesis named himself King of Fodlan and those who sided with him were given both the weapons and the blood of the children of the Goddess. These formed the Ten Elites.

Forty-one years before the Imperial Year 0, one of the surviving children called Seiros descended upon Enbarr and enacted miracles, creating the Church of Seiros. In Imperial Year 0, the Adrestian Empire was born. She gathered the remaining living children of the Goddess and they became the Four Saints: Macuil, Indech, Cichol, and Cethleann. Seiros also persuaded Wilhelm Paul Hresvelg to aid her in stopping Nemesis. Wilhelm accepted, and in thanks, Seiros gave him her blood, giving Wilhelm the Crest of Seiros.

In Imperial Year 32, Wilhelm waged war against Nemesis and the Ten Elites. Decades passed as Fodlan was thrown into war again. Fields were painted red with blood, forests razed into cinders, and rivers were filled with dead bodies. This was named the War of Heroes.

In Imperial Year 91, the War of Heroes reached its apex and the largest battle occurred in the Tailteann Plains of Faerghus. It was here that Nemesis and Seiros led the battle. After hours of brutal fighting, the battle led to single combat between Nemesis and Seiros.

In the end, Seiros won and slew Nemesis. The following seven years were spent hunting the remaining Ten Elites. The Elites themselves were killed, though their families were spared.

And thus, the War of Heroes ended at the Imperial Year of 98, more than a century since Seiros descended on Enbarr.

~~~

“And I’m guessing the rest is as history goes.” Emiya surmised. It was a tale of human hubris and revenge. Still… “Why tell me all this?” Emiya asked as he looked at Rhea. It seemed like she had managed to recollect herself. She was calm as she said the story, though she seemed more mellow than normal. Her smile was gone as well, replaced by a slight frown.

“Who do you think I am?” Rhea asked.

_ That’s an easy answer. You’re Seiros, or at least related to the children of the Goddess. _ Emiya thought.

“I can see in your eyes that you already know the answer,” Rhea stated as she stood up. She walked out to her balcony, overseeing the entire Monastery grounds as the sun began to set. Hearing the silent command, Emiya followed.

As Emiya reached her side, he asked, “How are you still alive? Is it because you’re a demigod?”

“Indeed,” Rhea answered. “As for why, I did promise you information on who captured you, in exchange for your aid to hunt them.”

“Then why tell me all of it?” ‘ _Or perhaps, what she had said wasn’t all of it._ ’

“Because I want you to trust me,” Rhea turned to face Emiya. “Because I want you to know that you are not alone in this millennia-old war. Because I want you to know that someone understands you.”

Emiya smirked. “Oh? I thought you wanted a hound dog to sic at your enemies. Wouldn’t I be more effective if you held the bone in front of me as long as you needed me?”

Rhea snorted and smiled. “That’s one way. However, Wilhelm taught me that the best hound dogs are those showered with love, trust, and care. They are the ones who truly believe in their cause. I will groom you into that hound dog, perhaps even surpass Wilhelm. But, before that could happen, I need your trust. I’ve laid out my cards. What about you?”

‘ _Shit, this woman’s crazy!_ ’

“You’re not worried I’ll stab you in the back?” Emiya asked.

“No. I know you will do what is necessary to save people, but you will not hesitate to kill. You understand that everyone can’t be saved. Your achievements during the Siege of Cornelia’s Castle has told me so. Otherwise, you would have just knocked Cornelia’s soldiers or perhaps even rushed to Cornelia. Instead, you laid a bloody swathe for Lambert and his men to follow. You killed as many as you can so that there would be no casualties on Lambert’s army.”

Inside, Emiya was surprised. That was not something that was said during the debriefing with Lambert yesterday. Outside, Emiya kept his cool, aware that Rhea was picking every little twitch that might appear. “Oh? How are you so sure? We never said anything about that.”

“Because I did the same during the Battle of the Tailteann Plains,” Rhea answered. “I fought Nemesis on my own. While soldiers died for us to reach him, he focused on my presence. I alone charged into battle against him to make sure that he focused on me, and me alone. I could have asked for help from Cichol or even Wilhelm, but I knew that I was the best at fighting him. They would have died if they tried to help.”

Emiya shook his head at her reasonings. “I can’t believe you. I’m essentially an unknown and you’ve laid out a lot of things to me, and you don’t even think I’d be an enemy?”

“If you were an enemy, then telling you the history of Fodlan doesn’t change anything. Those Who Slither in the Dark already know history, or at least their sick version of it. By telling you the history that I lived through, then you’ve gained another perspective to choose from.”

“Then, do what you want.” Emiya turned towards the inside of the room. “In the meantime, I’m going to do my job as a hunting dog.” He proceeded to leave the room to prepare for his departure.

‘ _Something is wrong with her. I’d understand if she did what she did if she complete control over me, but to do so when we just met… She’s insane._ _How did she stay as archbishop of the largest religion in this continent like that? Did her hatred for her enemies make her trust just about anyone who had an agenda against Those Who Slither in the Dark? No, if anything, it should make her more suspicious._ ’

~~~

Deep in his thoughts about Rhea, Emiya didn’t realize that someone saw him leave the descended from the third floor to the second floor.

~~~

Seteth was confused. He had only come from spending time with Flayn by fishing in the Pond within the Monastery grounds. It was by sheer coincidence that he noticed Emiya coming down from the third floor to the second floor.

‘ _Why was he coming from the third floor? The only room there is Rhea’s… Did Rhea bring him there?_ ’

In truth, Seteth found Emiya to be suspicious. He was far too perfect as a spy. He has an agenda against the enemies of the Church. He had suspicious magic, never seen before. He had no memories, or so he says. It was the perfect alibi if someone asked about his past. Of course, that in itself was suspicious too. And on top of that, he sold himself as the perfect weapon to hunt and kill Those Who Slither in the Dark.

‘ _I must confront Rhea about him. She’s trusting him too much._ ’

He took the stairs up to Rhea’s room and knocked on her door.

“Rhea! It’s me, Seteth. I have something to talk to you about.”

“Enter.”

Seteth opened the door, saw that Rhea was on her balcony, and approached her.

“What is it, Seteth? You don’t usually visit like this.” Rhea asked as Seteth stopped behind her right side.

“I just saw Emiya coming down from your floor. What happened?” Seteth began.

“I told him my side of history.” Rhea simply responded as she continued to stare at the Monastery grounds.

“What?! Why would you do that?” Seteth nearly shouted in surprise. He knew that Emiya had somehow gained her trust, but to have her reveal the truth about Fodlan? “What do you see in this boy? What makes you trust him so much?”

Rhea turned towards Seteth. “I told you before, Seteth. It was like looking at a mirror; I saw myself in there.” Rhea smiled fondly. “I saw Seiros in him.”

‘ _What? Seiros was filled with hatred and thoughts of vengeance. How would…_ ’

Seteth’s eyes widened in realization. “He also has a survivor’s guilt?” He asked pointlessly; he knew he was right. While Seiros was filled with hatred and revenge, all of those were backed by her want to get back at Nemesis, as a way to atone for failing her mother and siblings.

However, that still wasn’t enough. Seteth felt that Emiya was ultimately different. Rhea, or perhaps Seiros in this case, was someone that wanted to kill as a way to atone. If Emiya truly had survivor’s guilt, then what was his way to atone? Kill the people that experimented on him? No, that couldn’t be it; there was no ‘survivor’ in that.

And so, Seteth thought bigger. With Hapi as evidence, then it was safe to assume that there were more experiments. Then, from that, does Emiya’s way of atoning be trying to save others that were experimented with?

If that was the case, then how is Rhea seeing herself in Emiya? Their cores should be different. One wanted vengeance, the other wanted to save. Yes, there are many similarities, but at this point, Rhea was ignoring the differences.

‘ _Projection. Was Rhea projecting herself onto Emiya?_ ’

“Rhea, I see what you- “

Rhea waved her hand to interrupt him. “Enough, Seteth. I know that worrying is your second nature, but I trust him. Is that not enough for you?”

Seteth grimaced. Of course, he trusted her. She was one of the last of his family. But Flayn comes first, just as it always.

“Rhea… For now, I will have faith in your decision. I pray that nothing occurs to shake that confidence. If the boy does something that feels suspicious, know that I will unleash the entire force of the Knights of Seiros on him. Flayn is here now; I will not risk her safety, even if you trust him.”

Rhea smiled again. “Of course, Seteth. You would not be you otherwise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:
> 
> So, yea, a new chapter. The last bit is similar to Seteth talking to Rhea about hiring Byleth. The comparison makes sense to me.
> 
> And yes, I’ve had this idea in my head that Rhea projecting to Emiya. I felt that Rhea projected Sothis on Byleth a bit in canon, and Byleth staying as Byleth in the Holy Tomb broke that projection.
> 
> When I compiled the history of Fodlan, I used FE Fandom Wiki, Bogus Ganon in YT, and FE Datamine site for in-game transcripts. With all three combined, I feel that I got the history right. If I missed something, let me know. I know that I didn’t explain Seteth and Flayn, but I felt that their story is Seteth and Flayn’s story to tell, not Rhea’s. I also think that would be how Rhea would react.
> 
> Someone mentioned that Emiya doesn’t have survivor’s guilt. I think that he still does, to just a lesser extent than Shirou; it’s just that Emiya is willing to kill the few to save the many. Nameless in F/Extra also said that he is the embodiment of survivor’s guilt. I know that Nameless isn’t technically Emiya, but we all do it anyway.
> 
> Final notice, but university has officially started. Updates will be sporadic in the future. I’m not sure when I can work on this again, so don’t “Update?” I will ignore it. I have future plans for this fic. Writing this fic has been great at curbing my gaming addiction, so I’d like to continue this as far as I can.
> 
> 2021/02/10 Edit:
> 
> Formatting changes.
> 
> Added missing words.


	12. House Hrym 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shamir and Emiya observe.
> 
> Rhea plays spin the sword.

Emiya glumly looked at the cup of water in front of him. He then looked at the mug of ale that Shamir had been sipping from for the past hour.

_‘I could really use some right now._ ’

“You’re not getting any. Seteth will dock my pay. He doesn’t like me as it is already,” Shamir said before taking a large gulp. She looked outside.

Emiya sighed and said, “Yeah, I know.” He followed Shamir’s line of sight and both stared outside of their room in the local inn, at the town controlled by House Hrym.

The area was situated on the border between the Adrestian Empire and the Leicester Alliance, sharing the border with House Ordelia of the Alliance. From the mission debrief and their first meeting, if House Hrym has been taken over by Those Who Slithered in the Dark, then there was a high chance House Ordelia was also taken over as well. Most likely, House Ordelia is the next location to investigate.

House Hrym’s mansion was the largest building in the area. From the floor plans that Shamir had, which both memorized and burned on their way to House Hrym, the height in each floor was tall, far taller than the average house in the town. It wasn’t fortified like a castle, only separated from the outside with iron gates. The lack of fortification could be that House Hrym was so far in-land that there was no fear of foreign attacks. Shamir had also marked important rooms in the plans, and both memorized them all. Their first target is the study room, where head of House Hrym worked. If there were any incriminating documents, there’s a high possibility it would be there. With Emiya’s Structural Analysis, he’ll find anything important or hidden in the room and just say he had very good eyes. The lawns inside the gates were also well-maintained, seemingly only been cut recently. All in all, the immediate House Hrym grounds were pristine and well-kept, without any sign of trouble nor decay.

On the other hand, the areas outside the gates were in terrible condition. There were signs of closed, run-down, or slightly damaged houses. There were also some signs of looting from the houses on the edges of the land; some of these houses were also abandoned.

However, there were still people living here, and Emiya mentally separated them into two groups. The first group consisted of the civilians. Their items and clothing were old and worn out, while they were also lightly smeared with dirt. They labored through the town, grumbling underneath their breath. They were still doing their jobs, from what Emiya saw, but the level of discontent was high, and it only increased when the civilians were in the presence of the second group. This second group were hooded people, and they strutted throughout the town as if they owned it. With the current way everything was, they technically are the owners of it.

Shamir drank the last drop of her ale and set the mug on the side. She stared out the window again as a pair of hooded people rounded the corner into their line of sight.

“These are the guys, right?” Shamir asked.

“It’s definitely them,” Emiya confirmed.

“… They are so obvious. How did news never reach the Monastery about them?” Shamir murmured incredulously.

Emiya could only agree. Those Who Slithered in the Dark here in the town wore the same clothing as those that tried to assassinate the Faerghus royal family. Did they want to differentiate themselves from the people of Fodlan, who were blessed by the Goddess, so badly they were willing to look suspicious for it?

The room became silent as both kept looking outside, keeping track of the hooded figures that walked throughout town. It was a comfortable silence, and one that both didn’t want to break. Emiya was glad it was Shamir that he was partnered up with and not Alois. No offense to him, but Emiya felt he would have been a terrible option to head a stealth mission like this. While Alois was boisterous, Shamir was silent and serious, perfect for a stealth mission. When Alois said that he missed finding Shamir back in the Monastery, Emiya had initially thought that Alois was exaggerating. Afterall, Alois would have been an incompetent Captain of the Knights of Seiros if he missed someone.

However, after spending time with Shamir in the past three days, Emiya could only agree; Shamir was very much like a ghost. It was like she wasn’t even there. Her steps were deliberately silent, especially on their way to House Hrym. There were more greenery and they even crossed the Gronder Fields, which was more of a forest. Still, she led both of them and Emiya would have lost her if it weren’t for him Reinforcing his ears. On top of being quiet, her serious demeanor kept the focus on the mission and conversations tended to be short and to the point. Her behavior was more of a mercenary than a knight.

Emiya approved.

Suddenly, a well-off carriage appeared in their sights. They followed it as goes through the town and stopped in front of the House Hrym gates. A man stepped out the carriage and Emiya immediately Reinforced his eyesight to see him in more detail.

The man had long hair that was combed back, reaching his waist. A thin moustache and beard accented his frowning face. There was a short shoulder cape on his left and was adorned by a Adrestian colors. He exuded nobility in the way he presented himself.

‘ _And it’s all a fake._ ’ Emiya thought. The man inside couldn’t be any more different from the person outside.

“That’s Volkhard von Arundel. What do you think?” Shamir asked Emiya while she kept an eye on ‘Volkhard’.

Inside ‘Volkhard’ was Thales. There was a thin layer of ‘skin’ made by magic that hid the actual person. It also changed voice, though it didn’t change mannerisms and the like. It wasn’t all-powerful and it took time to perfect.

Emiya hummed in response to Shamir. “Mind if I open the window?” Shamir raised an eyebrow but nodded in the end. Emiya opened the window, took a sniff, and immediately closed the window. He laid on his bed as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

His head swam; he could hear Shamir, but she sounded far away. The magic he smelled was similar to Cornelia’s, which reeked of blood, but the amount of magic on his body was so much, it overwhelmed him. Thales smelled denser, heavier. His young brain couldn’t process it, and it cost him. On top of that, it wasn’t just active magic that he smelled. There was something passive, and it reminded him of 3 people and what they had in common.

‘ _Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn. Something on him smells similar to them. Clearly, it’s different, but definitely related. It would be something to ask Rhea when we finish this mission,_ ’ Emiya thought.

“Hey! Emiya, are you okay?” Shamir gripped Emiya’s shoulder to steady him, careful not to shake him.

Emiya blinked at Shamir, gradually sharpening his focus on her. “Yea, I’m fine. Just surprised, that’s all. But, to answer your question from earlier, that ‘Volkhard’ guy is not normal, and definitely not Volkhard anymore,” he responded. “He smelled similar to Cornelia, but far denser. What do we do?”

Shamir stared at the House Hrym mansion as she tracked ‘Volkhard’ disappeared into the mansion through the front door. “Tell Lady Rhea we’ve confirmed that they’re here. Call for reinforcements too.”

[\br/]

Seteth entered the Audience Chamber with a report for Rhea. However, what he found slightly baffled him.

“Rhea,” Seteth began, “what are you doing? Where did you get those … sticks? Wait, are those swords?”

Yes, swords. They were too pointy to just be regular sticks, far too small to be proper swords, and far too thin to be proper daggers. If Seteth could describe them at all, they were swords with the width of a tree branch. From what he could guess, they could reach from the tip of his middle finger up until his wrist.

Rhea stopped spinning the sword-stick. “Indeed, Seteth. Would you like to take a closer look?” She tilted the current one on her hand to him, and Seteth, with a face of disbelief, took it. Rhea looked over the three other sword-stick that she had and picked yellow to spin on her fingers. Seteth got the red sword-stick.

Yes, this was what Seteth came to when he entered: Rhea spinning sword-sticks on her hand with a little smile on her face. Thankfully, it was only Rhea and him in the room.

Quite frankly, the sword-sticks slightly creeped him out. As he noticed before, the sword-sticks reached from the tips of his middle finger to his wrist. About two-thirds of it made the blade while the other third was the handle. Judging from the spread of the weight, the entire thing could be made of steel, but the handle was blunted or smoothed and wrapped in cloth. It was basically a blunted stiletto with a longer handle and without a hilt. In total, there were four color-coded sword-sticks: red, yellow, blue, and white. Each sword-stick was a perfect copy of the others; not even a master bladesmith would be able to make such perfect copies, much less four copies.

“Rhea, you didn’t answer my first question: where did you get these swords?” Seteth reiterated. “Was it from Emiya?” He was the only one Seteth could think of that could do this.

“Indeed. Each one is such a perfect copy of the others. It would seem that rather than creation, our little hound copies weaponry. If you noticed, there is a little chip near the tip of the swords, and it appears in each one of them. Outside of the colors, there are no other differences. All three even have the perfect balance,” Rhea commented as she absent-mindedly spun the yellow sword-stick on her fingers. It was going fast enough that it left trails of yellow as it spun between her fingers, on top of the back of her hand, even the back of her thumb. At some point, Rhea had masterfully switched hands without slowing down.

Seteth frowned. “Rhea, could you stop playing around? You might get hurt from all this.” It had been a while since he found her this happy and happy for herself. “Do you know why he gave you these?”

“I asked him to leave some swords as a signal. A disappearing sword is meant to be the message.” Rhea did not pause her spinning as she passed a small piece of paper to Seteth. “The swords are blunt too. I tried cutting that paper, but the sword couldn’t even cut through it.”

Seteth took it and on it was a simple message. He frowned as he read through it.

_Y – Need Reinforcements_

_R – Enemy_

_B – Kids_

_W – Boss_

Short and straight to the point. “It could use a few more words.” Seteth said. “It doesn’t even explain how things are for them.”

“You’re nitpicking him, Seteth. I think this is fine as it is.” Rhea kept spinning her yellow sword-stick when both the red and yellow sword-sticks suddenly disappeared into motes of light. The blue sword-stick didn’t follow suit.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew in temperature and weight. “Seteth, gather your platoon and leave at once. Bring your best weapons. I want the Agarthans dead,” Rhea commanded. “If someone asks anything, tell them there is a group of insurrectionists to subdue. Make sure that this is stamped out. With your wyverns, you should reach House Hrym in a day.”

Seteth’s face darkened. “He will be there. Do you honestly think this is a good idea?”

“Then bring all the wyvern riders, I don’t care. I want him dead.” Rhea growled.

Seteth tensed as his hands turned into a grip, but he released it immediately. “Very well. With Alois and the rest of the Church of Seiros, the Monastery should still be armed enough until we return.

“Let me remind you, Rhea, that I still do not trust Emiya. His timings have been too coincidental for my liking.”

“I know, Seteth. You wouldn’t be you if you did trust him.”

Seteth promptly bowed and left the room.

‘ _I pray that you are not lying. Otherwise, it will not just be Thales that will die._ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes:
> 
> And Chapter 12 is done.
> 
> I’m keeping sword-stick until we get an actual name for those. I found it kind of funny, but it might irk some people. Sorry, I kind of want to show that these Rhea and Seteth have some humanity in them, that they can find some little joys in life. Rhea was basically pen-spinning. It’s a relaxing hobby,
> 
> I think I covered all the important mission objectives with the four colors. It wasn’t meant to be RWBY in the beginning, but Persona 3-5 colors (RYB). However, I had to add another color and white was a neutral color.
> 
> I hope that the Shamir and Emiya scene was alright.
> 
> 2021/02/19 Edit:
> 
> Added a bit more to describe sword-sticks. I’m keeping it as such for now since only Seteth calls it that.
> 
> Corrected an error I had before.


End file.
